A few months before she debuted her controversial jeans campaign, Sydney Sweeney inspired backlash over another product — soap infused with her bathwater.
Looking back on the incident now, the actress has no regrets about launching Sydney’s Bathwater Bliss. After all, the soap collab with the men’s personal hygiene company Dr. Squatch sold out in seconds. Sweeney does admit, however, that she couldn’t ignore the rage the cleanser incited.
“I think it’s important to have a finger on the pulse of what people are saying,” she told The Wall Street Journal in a new interview. “Because everything is a conversation with the audience.”
While she doesn’t lend too much credence to the uproar, Sweeney did address the harsh response at the time — and claimed that she noticed a trend with it.
Dr. Squatch
“It was mainly the girls making comments about it, which I thought was really interesting,” Sweeney said, before name-dropping her Euphoria costar. “They all loved the idea of Jacob Elordi’s bathwater.”
Sweeney’s cheeky remarks were referring to Elordi’s character in Emerald Fennell’s 2023 film, Saltburn, which sees him enjoying a moment of personal pleasure in a bathtub before his obsessive best friend (Barry Keoghan) sneaks in to slurp up some of the leftovers.
In addition to becoming a meme-worthy moment, the scene inspired Jacob Elordi’s Bathwater candles, products that became a viral sensation so big that even Elordi took some time to celebrate them.
Sweeney’s soap has enjoyed similar success. Not only did it sell out immediately, it also became a big topic of conversation on social media. Called Sydney’s Bathwater Bliss, the natural soap “bricc” was formulated with Sweeney’s used bathing water, exfoliating sand, and pine bark extract. It contains notes of pine, Douglas fir, and moss.
“When your fans start asking for your bathwater, you can either ignore it or turn it into a bar of Dr. Squatch soap,” Sweeney said in a press release at the time. “It’s weird in the best way, and I love that we created something that’s not just unforgettable, it actually smells incredible.”
Frazer Harrison/Getty
Since then, Sweeney has landed herself in more serious hot water. Her recent American Eagle jeans campaign was built around the slogan “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans,” riffing on the idea of her “great genes,” which led some critics to accuse her and the brand of dog-whistling white supremacy and espousing antisemitic ideology.
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The campaign’s most criticized promo features the actress reclining on a couch and fastening her jeans as she murmurs, “Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality, and even eye color. My genes are blue.” After that, a male narrator adds, “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans.”
Sweeney has yet to directly address the ads, but she has garnered support from the likes of President Donald Trump, Dr. Phil McCraw, and conservative pundits like Meghan McCain, who have slammed the outrage over the campaign, saying it is simply “woke” liberals overreacting. Meanwhile, stars like Doja Cat and Lizzo have enjoyed poking fun at the campaign on social media.
