Sharon Stone defends Sydney Sweeney after jeans ad controversy
Sharon Stone was present Variety Power of Women LA event on Wednesday, designed to honor Sydney Sweeney as one of the evening’s honorees. The two actresses have been working on Season 3 of “Euphoria” for several months now, even after Sweeney faced controversy in July for starring in an American Eagle ad campaign. The commercials revolved around the slogan ‘Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans’, a play on ‘great genes’; it drew backlash from critics who claimed the ads glorified Sweeney’s white heritage and physique.
“It’s okay to use what mommy gave you. It’s really okay,” Stone said Variety senior entertainment writer Angelique Jackson on the carpet, voicing her support for Sweeney. “It’s hard to be hot, and I think we all know that. It’s really okay to use every bit of hotness you have – here and now – and go for whatever that is. Everyone has their own certain kind of hotness, their own certain thing, and you have to go for that. Because who are you not to be beautiful? You know, who you are is not an accident.”
Stone recounted a conversation she had with Sweeney as the “big jeans” controversy grew as the two actresses continued production on “Euphoria.”
“Being co-godparents to Jane Goodall, I said, ‘When Jane was on the cover of Life Magazine for her work with gorillas, she sat in her safari shorts and shirt next to one of the animals she was working with. Other scientists said, ‘Well, she only got the cover of Life Magazine because she had good legs.’ And Jane said, ‘If I did that, it would help me get more money for my research,'” Stone said. “Sydney said, ‘Yes, and I’m sure I made a billion dollars for the jeans company, and I’m good at that. Because you know what? I’ll get another job.’”
Stone is a new addition to the ensemble for Season 3 of ‘Euphoria,’ which will reportedly take place after a year-long time jump following the events of Season 2. Sweeney reprises her role from the first two seasons, as do stars Zendaya, Jacob Elordi, Eric Dane, Alexa Demie, Maude Apatow, Colman Domingo and others. While Stone may be a newcomer to the series, she says she’s a longtime fan of “Euphoria.”
“I had to watch it for the 67th time to catch up again,” Stone joked. “It was such a pleasure to work with these wonderful young people.”
Director Paul Feig, who worked with Sweeney on her upcoming thriller “The Housemaid,” also offered his support for his star in her Power of Women Variety cover story, in which the ‘big jeans’ controversy is ‘manufactured’ by ‘a certain segment of the media [who] blew it up.”
“She’s probably one of the most confident people I’ve ever met in my life — in a good way. She’s very smart,” Feig said.
Together with Sweeney, Variety The Power of Women LA event on Wednesday honored Wanda Sykes, Jamie Lee Curtis, Nicole Scherzinger and Kate Hudson.
