Has Sydney Sweeney already been cancelled? Romance with Taylor Swift’s arch-nemesis Scooter Braun comes after backlash against Hollywood darling from the woke mob

Since her meteoric rise to fame, Sydney Sweeney has painted herself as the type of all-American starlet that the middle states typically embrace.

But despite finding success with her roles in Euphoria and Anyone But You, the Hollywood favourite has found herself on shaky ground after a huge backlash over her American Eagle denim campaign, which was branded ‘Nazi propaganda’ by critics. 

It has also been revealed that the blonde beauty is a registered member of the Republican Party, which sparked a hugely divided response. 

On the professional front, her most recent film Americana flopped – a year after top Hollywood producer Carol Baum, declared the star is ‘not pretty and can’t act’, while branding her rom-com Anyone But You ‘unwatchable’.

No doubt Sydney’s riskiest move yet, however, has been inviting the wrath of Taylor Swift‘s fiercely passionate fanbase, by starting a ‘casual’ romance with the singer’s longtime enemy Scooter Braun.

The pair reportedly met while attending the Venice wedding of billionaire Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez in June, and sources claimed the music mogul has been ‘pursuing’ her ever since.

But even in the midst of all this, experts have insisted that Sydney’s star has continued to rise, with news she’s fronting a big-money campaign for Jimmy Choo, while Jeff himself has invested a huge amount into her new lingerie line.

Scooter has long been hated by Taylor’s fans after he purchased the hitmaker’s musical masters in a deal reportedly worth more than $300million.

In the years since, Swift very publicly battled against Braun, claiming that she had tried to purchase the masters herself but had not been given the chance, and accused him of ‘incessant, manipulative bullying’. 

Taylor subsequently re-recorded several of her albums that she had lost the masters of, and, in May this year, Swift finally bought back the rights to all her music for a reported $360million.

Fans on X have said: ‘Starting to wonder if rage baiting is Sydney Sweeney’s new marketing strategy.

‘As someone who has been mildly amused and very impressed by Sydney Sweeney’s ability to constantly p**s everyone off, it pains me to say that the Scooter Braun dating rumours have stunned me to silence. She finally got me.’

It’s also been reported that Scooter and Sydney spent the Labour Day weekend together in Lake Tahoe and basked in the lakeside views from Friday through Monday as they ‘continue to get to know one another’, according to People. 

Braun was previously married to South African–born Canadian health activist Yael Cohen for eight years. They share three young children and divorced in 2022.

Sydney was previously engaged to businessman Jonathan Davino, 42, but the two split in January.

Proof that Sydney’s star power hasn’t been dimmed by her recent scandals was even more prominent this week, when it was announced she was the face of Jimmy Choo’s new autumn campaign.

She last modelled for the brand as the star of the luxury brand’s Summer 2024 campaign.

In July it was also revealed that she is launching a new lingerie line with the help of billionaire Jeff’s financial backing.

The lingerie line is being backed by Ben Schwerin, a partner at private equity firm Coatue according to Puck. The company recently had a $1 billion investment from Bezos and fellow tech giant Michael Dell via their Coatue Innovation Fund.

Back in March, Sweeney signed on to star in the video game adaptation of the recent hit Split Fiction, which has been backed by Amazon MGM Studios.

Her affiliation with Jeff, who has creative control of the next James Bond movie, also appears to have brought her closer to one of the most esteemed roles a Hollywood star could ask for – that of a Bond Girl.

Sydney was engulfed in controversy after she appeared in an American Eagle denim campaign that had the tagline: ‘Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans,’ with critics claiming the ad was pro-eugenics and supported far-right politics.

In one ad, the Anyone But You actress could be seen buttoning a pair of denim blue jeans while saying: ‘Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality and even eye color. My genes are blue.’

Another clip filmed the star wearing a denim jumpsuit with a plunging neckline on the front as the camera panned down towards her chest.

‘My body’s composition is determined by my genes,’ she said, and then stopped to add, ‘Hey, eyes up here.’ The camera then jumped back up to her face. 

Some social media users slammed the campaign and labelled it as ‘Nazi propaganda’ while other fans branded the backlash as ‘unhinged’.  

Outraged fans penned: ‘So Sydney (& American Eagle) somehow expect audiences to not interpret this visual as a euphemism for eugenics and white supremacy?’ 

‘The Sydney Sweeney American Eagle ad campaign is just modern day Nazi propaganda. Like it’s wild how blatant it is. Things are weird right now, man.’;  

‘The most Nazi part of the Sydney sweeney add for me was the use of the word offspring’; 

‘”Jeans (Genes) are past down from parent to offspring” “My jeans (genes) are blue” “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans (genes)” Nothing is ever a coincidence, this is eugenics’; 

Yet many were quick to defend Sydney, branding the backlash ‘unhinged’. 

They shared on X/Twitter: ‘I’m not sure how to say this nicely but if you think a jeans ad with a pun about Sydney Sweeney being pretty is a nazi dogwhistle you genuinely need to put the phone down for a while.’;

‘Everyone is seriously reading too much into this and y’all need to go take a hike or something because sydney sweeney is literally just promoting jeans, not “nazi propaganda”.’; 

‘The claim that Sydney Sweeney’s American Eagle ad is pro-eugenics because of a “good genes/jeans” pun is genuinely unhinged. It’s a denim campaign, not a manifesto. Not every blonde with blue eyes is a Nazi. Some of you need a history book — and a nap’;

It seemed the backlash only had a positive effect on the brand’s profits, as figures published on Wednesday showed it has earned $1.28 billion since June.

Wall Street responded after the bell, sending the clothing store’s stock price up 25 percent. The stock is still down 18 percent on the year. 

Experts previously told the Daily Mail that the contentious ad was intentionally attention-grabbing. 

‘From a PR perspective, what we’re seeing from Sydney Sweeney isn’t a “misstep”‘, Alexandria Hurley, a Las Vegas-based publicist, said. 

‘Sydney has flirted with controversy before — from her SNL Hooters skit to her recent Bathwater Bliss collaboration with Dr. Squatch — and rather than walk it back after criticism, she’s leaned further in. That’s not oversight. That’s strategy.’ 

However, this strategy was no help when it came to ticket sales for Sydney’s latest movies, which were both released in August. 

Ron Howard’s $50million-budget survival thriller Eden — debuted in 664 screens  and earned just $1million.

The film’s disappointing box office performance may be partly due to lukewarm reviews, despite a star studded-cast.

Sydney had a dramatic make-under for her role as the real-life German settler Margret Wittmer in the movie, which also stars Ana de Armas and Jude Law.

Meanwhile, her film Americana, made only $500,000 on its opening weekend against a $9million budget, the weekend prior.

Last month it was also revealed that Sydney was a member of the Republican Party of Florida, according to public voter records viewed by the Daily Mail. She registered in Monroe County, Florida in June 2024.

Buzzfeed was first to report the news not long after one social media user on X uploaded a now-viral post. 

They wrote, ‘was about to make a whole youtube video exploring sydney sweeney’s choices not defending her but going through her career context and i just found out this lady is an actual registered member of the republican party as of 2024.’ 

Fans offered differing viewpoints on the actress’s political party registration by jumping to X, writing: ‘are we really surprised? lol.’ 

‘I would like to say im shocked…but im not; Her playing a character who supports women’s rights while being registered Republican in Florida is something!’

‘Oh so she’s part of the maga family, that’s disappointing,’ while others came to her defense. 

‘Its okay for people to have different views than you;

‘Y’all need to stop harassing her. She’s a human being and is allowed to vote for whoever she wants. There’s a thing called free will people.’ 

‘If every celeb’s voter registration became public, we’d probably cancel 80% of Hollywood;

‘Why is this anyone’s business? She’s an actress, not your elected official.’ 

Sydney defended herself from accusations she was right-wing in 2022, after she posted snaps of her mother’s birthday party guests wearing MAGA-inspired hats.

She told GQ: ‘Honestly I feel like nothing I say can help the conversation. It’s been turning into a wildfire and nothing I can say will take it back to the correct track.’

PR guru Mark Borkowski has agreed, stating that Sydney’s recent scandals have only helped to boost her star power and made her ‘un-cancellable’.

He told The Sun: ‘Most actors caught in the crossfire of partisan politics, fan wars, or brand ‘wokeness’ wobble, apologise, retreat. Sweeney doesn’t.

‘She keeps working, keeps fronting campaigns, keeps landing movies. Momentum itself is her shield. Crucially, she isn’t doing this alone.

‘Behind her is a professional machine that knows how to keep her image afloat. No flailing on Twitter. She lets the visuals do the talking.

‘Add Scooter Braun into the picture and the message is clear: She has heavyweight operators around her who understand the alchemy of fame.’

Sydney and Scooter have been ‘on multiple dates’ but their romance is ‘casual’ at the moment, according to TMZ.

‘Sydney has just ended a relationship and she’s doing what women in their 20s do – she’s dating,’ a source said.