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On Saturday, August 27, Euphoria star Sydney Sweeney took to Instagram to share pictures of her mother’s 60th birthday celebration, which sparked much backlash. The post showcased the birthday celebration in a western or cowboy theme. In the post, Sweeney captioned the carousel of pictures with:
“No better way to celebrate my momma than a surprise hoedown.”
The aforementioned backlash seems to have been sparked by a set of pictures from Sweeney’s younger brother Trent’s Instagram. The posts in question showcased a red cap worn by many of the family members. The caps also carried a text on them which caused people to assume that the caps were former US President Donald Trump’s Make America Great Again (MAGA) campaign merch.
However, Trent E. Sweeney later clarified in his post that the text on the caps read “Make Sixty Great Again.” Despite this, numerous individuals took to Twitter to criticize Sweeney and her mother for allegedly being right-wing MAGA supporters. The actress also took to her Twitter to address the issue and urged netizens not to make assumptions. She wrote:
"Please stop making assumptions. Much love to everyone."
Sydney Sweeney responds to the backlash
Within a day of the backlash, Sydney Sweeney took to Twitter to address the controversy. She said:
“You guys, this is wild. An innocent celebration for my moms milestone 60th birthday has turned into an absurd political statement, which was not the intention.”
She further urged netizens not to speculate. The backlash also seems to have caused her brother to edit his post and add a disclaimer that the caps in the picture were not MAGA merch.
Netizens speculate that Sydney Sweeney’s family’s political affiliation may lean towards the right wing
Amid massive speculations, a legion of online responses pointed out the “Make Sixty Great Again” caps inspired by the MAGA campaign in the pictures and videos of Sweeney’s mother’s birthday bash. Meanwhile, others pointed out that an unidentified male from the birthday celebration who seemingly wore a “Blue Lives Matter” shirt. This individual’s shirt was seemingly spotted by some fans and was later mentioned in TMZ’s report of the backlash.
Following the controversy, some mocked the situation and targeted Sydney Sweeney and her family. Several tweets insensitively joked and enquired whether the 24-year-old’s family were present at the United States Capitol building during “January 6 (2021).”
Similarly, a few called out the Euphoria star over her claims that the celebration was not politicized. A user named Dereck (@vespervievv) alleged that Sydney Sweeney specifically did not upload any such pictures where her family members were spotted wearing MAGA-inspired caps. Meanwhile, some outright slammed her family and parents as racists without much explanation.
Amid all these chaotic allegations, some Euphoria fans defended Sweeney. Others, however, pointed out how the actress’ upbringing in the Republican-majority state of Idaho hinted at these recent speculative claims.
