Sydney Sweeney has recently been part of some attention-grabbing ad campaigns, but the Euphoria star recently talked about one that got as much criticism as curiosity: her limited-edition “bathwater” soap with Dr. Squatch.
Sydney Sweeney has something to say about bathwater soap criticism
Earlier this year, Sweeney teamed up with men’s grooming company Dr. Squatch for a cheeky limited-edition soap called Sydney’s Bathwater Bliss. The bar, marketed as being “infused” with her bathwater, sold out in seconds. But not everyone was supporting it.
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Sweeney said she noticed the criticism didn’t mainly come from men. “ It was mainly the girls making comments about it, which I thought was really interesting,” she explained.
She compared the reaction to the Jacob Elordi bathwater candle, which went viral after his infamous Saltburn scene. That candle was embraced as a joke and fueled endless memes. Sweeney pointed out that while Elordi’s product was celebrated, her own bathwater soap drew far more judgment. “They all loved the idea of Jacob Elordi’s bathwater.”
When announcing the soap in May, Sweeney teased fans on Instagram, saying they had kept asking about her bathwater after her first Dr. Squatch ad, “so we kept it.” She also pointed out that at the time that Dr. Squatch had been acquired by Unilever for $1.5 billion. Though she declined to share whether she held equity in the brand, she admitted she takes a strategic approach to her partnerships.
The soap wasn’t her only campaign to grab headlines. Soon after, American Eagle launched its “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans” ads, playing on the word “genes.” What was meant as a lighthearted pun quickly blew up. Some people accused the brand of promoting eugenics and even compared it to Nazi propaganda, while others saw the backlash as exaggerated.
The uproar grew so big that celebrities like Lizzo, Doja Cat, and Stephen Colbert weighed in. Even politicians, including Vice President J.D. Vance and Donald Trump, were a part of the discourse.
Originally reported by Devanshi Basu on Mandatory.
