Breaking News English

A video from a U.S. fashion retailer has [creative / created] controversy over its [usefulness / use] of the words "jeans" (as in denim) and genes (as in genetics). Social media is [light / alight] with claims the video is racist. The company, American Eagle, produced the video for its new [line / life] of clothes. The video stars denim-[clad / clap] actress Sydney Sweeney. She tells the camera: "Genes are passed down from parents to [upswing / offspring], often determining [plaits / traits] like hair colour, personality and even eye colour. My jeans are blue." The video closes with the [punchline / tagline] : "Sydney Sweeney has great jeans." American Eagle said the play [in / on] words was part of its ad campaign's "provocative language". It said the words were definitely going to "[pull / push] buttons".

Many people have criticized the wordplay for having eugenic undertones. Eugenics is a [debunked / banked] theory that posits that [humanely / humanity] can be improved by encouraging people with [certainly / certain] genes to reproduce, to increase the [occurs / occurrence] of "desirable" racial traits. Critics of the ad highlight the fact [that / what] Ms Sweeney is white, blue-eyed, and blonde. They suggest her [locks / looks] are really "great genes". Former Fox News host Megyn Kelly called [a / the] criticism a "leftist meltdown". U.S. Vice President JD Vance called it an [overreaction / reaction] . Meanwhile, the White House communications director said attacking the ad was "cancel culture [run / paced] amok". American Eagle says its ad "is and always was about the [jeans / genes] ."