Sharon Stone was on hand for Variety’s Power of Women LA event on Wednesday, where she was set to present honors to Sydney Sweeney as one of the evening’s honorees. The two actresses have been working together on “Euphoria” Season 3 for several months.
This collaboration continued even after Sweeney faced controversy in July for her role in an American Eagle ad campaign. The commercials, centered around the slogan “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans” — a pun on “great genes” — drew backlash from critics who alleged the ads glorified Sweeney’s white heritage and physique.
“It’s okay to use what mama gave you. It’s really fine,” Stone told 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 right here, right now and go for whatever that is. Everybody has their own certain kind of hotness, their own certain thing, and you’re supposed to go for that. Because who are you not to be beautiful? You know, who you are isn’t an accident.”
Stone recounted a conversation she had with Sweeney as the “great jeans” controversy was taking hold, while they continued production on “Euphoria.”
“Because I was co-godparent with Jane Goodall, I said, ‘When Jane was on the cover of Life magazine for her work with gorillas, she was in her safari shorts and shirt, sitting with one of the animals that she was working with. Other scientists said, ‘Well, she only got the cover of Life magazine because she had good legs.’ And Jane said, ‘Well, if I did, then that helped me get more money for my research,’” Stone explained.
“Sydney said, ‘Yeah, and I’m sure I made a billion dollars for the jeans company, and I’m good with that. Because, you know what? I’ll get another job.’”
Stone is a new addition to the ensemble for “Euphoria” Season 3, which will reportedly take place after a years-long time jump following the events of Season 2. Sweeney is reprising her role from the first two seasons, as are stars Zendaya, Jacob Elordi, Eric Dane, Alexa Demie, Maude Apatow, Colman Domingo, and others.
While Stone is a series newcomer, she says she has been a longtime “Euphoria” fan. “I had to watch it for the 67th time to get caught up again,” Stone joked. “It was such a joy to go to work with these amazing young people.”
Director Paul Feig, who worked with Sweeney on her upcoming thriller “The Housemaid,” also offered his support for the star in her Power of Women Variety cover story, calling the “great jeans” controversy “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 savvy,” Feig said.
Along with Sweeney, Variety’s Power of Women LA event on Wednesday honored Wanda Sykes, Jamie Lee Curtis, Nicole Scherzinger, and Kate Hudson.
https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/sharon-stone-defends-sydney-sweeney-jeans-ad-controversy-1236565272/