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Amanda Seyfried is opening up about being by Housemaid costar Sydney Sweeney’s side amid controversy regarding an American Eagle ad campaign.
“We had a great time on the press tour,” Seyfried, 40, told GQ in a profile published on Monday, June 15. “We worked really hard and she seemed to be having fun, but I also understood that probably it can’t be f***ing easy, where she found herself… I have heard her stand up for herself, but I think she found herself between a rock and a hard place.”
At the time, Sweeney, 28, and Seyfried were promoting their 2025 film The Housemaid. The movie, which is based on the book of the same name written by Freida McFadden, centers around Nina (Seyfried) hiring live-in housekeeper Millie (Sweeney). Millie quickly discovers that Nina’s seemingly perfect house she was hired to clean isn’t what she was imagining.
When asked how she provided support to Sweeney amid the height of the backlash, Seyfried replied, “I’m just there.”
“I don’t talk to her about it unless she wants to talk about it,” Seyfried continued. “I don’t want to be a source of anything, but whatever you need. You need some fun, you need to laugh, you need cake with me? That’s fine… at the same time, I’m like, ‘We’ve got to promote this movie and I can be a safe space.’”
Amid the controversy surrounding Sweeney and the campaign, Seyfried shared that her costar still made sure to think of her on her birthday, which falls on December 3.
“She brought me all these cupcakes from Magnolia Bakery and gave me this most beautiful bracelet,” she said.
Sweeney faced backlash in 2025 when she was featured as part of American Eagle’s denim campaign that featured the tagline, “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans.” The ad, which seemingly played on the words “jean” and “gene,” sparked outrage on social media that Sweeney and the brand were promoting eugenics. (The discredited belief aims to improve human genetics and is often associated with white supremacy.)
A brand spokesperson responded to pushback surrounding the ad last August, noting the campaign “is and always was about the jeans. Her jeans. Her story. We’ll continue to celebrate how everyone wears their AE jeans with confidence, their way. Great jeans look good on everyone.”
Sweeney, for her part, brushed off the criticism in November 2025.
“I did a jean ad,” Sweeney told GQ at the time. “I mean, the reaction definitely was a surprise, but I love jeans. All I wear are jeans. I’m literally in jeans and a T-shirt every day of my life.”
When asked if there was “something that [she wanted] to say about the ad itself,” Sweeney replied, “I think that when I have an issue that I want to speak about, people will hear.”
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