'Euphoria' star Sydney Sweeney addresses backlash over bathwater soap
What's the story
Hollywood actor Sydney Sweeney recently spoke candidly about the backlash she received for her collaboration with Dr. Squatch, a men's grooming brand. The partnership involved creating a limited-edition soap made from her bathwater, aptly named Sydney's Bathwater Bliss. Despite the controversy it sparked, the product sold out in seconds. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Sweeney defended her decision and compared herself to Euphoria co-star Jacob Elordi.
Backlash response
Sweeney on why she collaborated with Dr. Squatch
Sweeney said fans had been joking about wanting her bathwater online, and rather than ignore it, she decided to turn the idea into a real product. "It's important to have a finger on the pulse of what people are saying because everything is a conversation with the audience." She called it "weird in the best way," adding that the soap grabbed attention while performing like any other Dr. Squatch product.
Comparison
The 'Saltburn' connection
Sweeney suggested her bathwater soap was inspired by Elordi's viral Saltburn scene, where Barry Keoghan's character drinks Elordi's bathwater. This scene blew up online and sparked countless memes, even inspiring a candle called Jacob Elordi's Bathwater that fans couldn't get enough of. Sweeney said, "It was mainly the girls making comments about it, which I thought was really interesting... They all loved the idea of Jacob Elordi's bathwater."
Product details
What's in the controversial soap?
The contentious soap combined her bathwater with ingredients like sand and pine bark extract. Only 5,000 bars were made, priced at $8 each. While some fans found it funny and harmless, others thought it went too far. "When your fans start asking for your bathwater, you can either ignore it or turn it into a bar of Dr. Squatch soap," Sweeney stated in a press release at the time.
Additional backlash
Other ad campaigns that received backlash
Sweeney's bathwater soap isn't her only eyebrow-raising ad campaign. In July, she starred in American Eagle's latest denim campaign, which used wordplay to praise her "great jeans." The pun on "genes" and "jeans" fell flat, however. Critics argued the campaign seemed to glorify her white features, blue eyes, and slim figure as the standard of beauty.