Actor Sydney Sweeney is under fire by certain segments of the internet after photos from a family party appeared to show she has some MAGA-oriented relatives.
The controversy erupted after Sweeney posted photos from her mother's birthday party in her hometown of Spokane, Washington, a hoedown-themed bash at which one relative was seen wearing a "Blue Lives Matter" t-shirt.
Backlash was swift from some on the internet who criticized Sweeney for what they saw as her condoning bigotry by associating with family members who hold right-wing beliefs.
Sweeney was quick to clap back at her critics in a tweet, seen below, for making "assumptions" about her political beliefs on the basis of the party photos.
\u201cYou 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. Please stop making assumptions. Much love to everyone \u2665\ufe0f and Happy Birthday Mom!\u201d— Sydney Sweeney (@Sydney Sweeney) 1661640607
Sweeney wrote:
"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. Please stop making assumptions."
"Much love to everyone and Happy Birthday Mom!"
The furor began when Sweeney posted a carousel of photos from her mother's birthday which showed one man some believe to be Sweeney's father wearing a back the blue t-shirt.
It escalated further when Sweeney's brother posted photos showing other relatives in what at first glance appeared to be red MAGA hats like those sold by former Republican President Donald Trump.
However the message was "MAKE SIXTY GREAT AGAIN."
\u201c@PopCrave the hat is actually written \u201c Make Sixty Great Again\u201d ITS A JOKE \ud83d\ude2d\u201d— Pop Crave (@Pop Crave) 1661642719
The hats were a reference to Sweeney's mother's 60th birthday.
But others were not convinced by the joke, pointing out most people would not find the hats funny unless they already supported Trump and the MAGA movement.
Others pointed to past social media posts by Sweeney's brother that are explicitly pro-Trump, citing them as evidence Sweeney comes from a family of Trump supporters.
Some fans were criticizing Sweeney and even demanding she answer for her family members' political beliefs.
A heated debate ensued on Twitter.
\u201cthe fact that family members wore THESE clothes for sydney's mother's birthday party ?! and she posted/likes these pics??!?!? sydney sweeney EXPLAIN that blue lives matter tshirt n maga hats\ud83d\udc80\u201d— dead ethyl \u2661\ufe0e (@dead ethyl \u2661\ufe0e) 1661638416
\u201cthe Sydney Sweeney thing just reminds me of what Blk folk mean when we say \u201ca difference of opinion in friendship is apples & oranges, NOT political views\u201d. Because how can you not be racisr when you\u2019re smiling next to ppl wearing blue lives matter shirts & fake maga hats\u201d— jordan \u2022 they/them (@jordan \u2022 they/them) 1661655886
\u201cThe stans doing acrobatics in the quotes and replies saying that the hats say \u201cMake sixty great again\u201d. First off, the tweet clearly says MAGA-INSPIRED, and second, who gets custom-made MAGA hats for their birthday unless they\u2019re a Trump supporter? \ud83d\ude44\ud83d\ude44\ud83d\ude44\n\nMuting tweet now.\u201d— \ud835\udc03\ud835\udc1e\ud835\udc2b\ud835\udc1e\ud835\udc1c\ud835\udc24 \ud83d\udcf0\ud83d\udcd3\ud83d\udd8a (@\ud835\udc03\ud835\udc1e\ud835\udc2b\ud835\udc1e\ud835\udc1c\ud835\udc24 \ud83d\udcf0\ud83d\udcd3\ud83d\udd8a) 1661633132
\u201cSydney Sweeney family has on MAGA inspired merch and she\u2019s saying she doesn\u2019t know why everything has to be political girl be fr.\u201d— SLIM. (@SLIM.) 1661642394
\u201c@sydney_sweeney Your fans being hurt that you posted photos of you with your dad in a blue lives matter shirt at a maga themed birthday party isn't unreasonable, girlie. Your family looks pretty racist and maybe you should take a second to think about how you're going to address that.\u201d— Sydney Sweeney (@Sydney Sweeney) 1661640607
Others found the uproar—and the notion Sweeney would be responsible for anyone's political beliefs but her own—absurd.
\u201cIf you\u2019re upset at an actress you like because she was at a party where some people were wearing hats that look like MAGA hats you may want to look into getting a goddamned life.\u201d— IrreparablyCompromisedHat (@IrreparablyCompromisedHat) 1661643882
\u201cunless sydney sweeney forces her parents to vote for joe biden at gunpoint i can no longer in good conscience "stan" her tv show about high schoolers snorting heroin out of each others mouths\u201d— notarious T.I.G (@notarious T.I.G) 1661641855
\u201c@bobo_circus Weirdest controversy in a bit. Like, you can\u2019t even know a conservative? What?\u201d— notarious T.I.G (@notarious T.I.G) 1661641855
\u201c@PopCrave Y\u2019all really be shocked when you find out white people have white people in their family \ud83d\ude02\u201d— Pop Crave (@Pop Crave) 1661636362
\u201c@FredTJoseph @sydney_sweeney But that's her family. Should she disown them for their political beliefs? What are we becoming?\u201d— Sydney Sweeney (@Sydney Sweeney) 1661640607
\u201c@PopCrave a family member\u2019s beliefs + values \u2260 your own. i thought we all knew that already lol\u201d— Pop Crave (@Pop Crave) 1661636362
\u201c@sydney_sweeney I am so sorry you have to even make a statement. \ud83d\udc99\u201d— Sydney Sweeney (@Sydney Sweeney) 1661640607
More than 74,000,000 Americans voted for former Republican President Donald Trump in 2020 out of a total of roughly 158,000,000 people who voted.
So it's likely we all have someone in our lives who is MAGA-oriented, even if we don't know it.
Sweeney has not commented further on the situation beyond the tweet she posted.