Adam Kinzinger Humiliated After Social Media Brings The Receipts

Former congressman Adam Kinzinger found himself in the middle of a digital dressing-down this morning after tweeting that “nobody made a big deal” about the controversial Sydney Sweeney jeans ad—except, according to him, Fox News. The tweet, intended as a jab at conservative media, backfired within hours when a user responded with receipts that painted a very different picture.

In his tweet, Kinzinger attempted to downplay the cultural impact of the now-infamous American Eagle denim campaign featuring actress Sydney Sweeney. “Just to be clear,” he posted, “nobody made a big deal about the Sydney Sweeney jeans ad besides Foxnews. They needed their zombie dopamine hit.”

Just to be clear, nobody made a big deal about the Sydney Sweeney jeans ad besides Foxnews. They needed their zombie dopamine hit.

— Adam Kinzinger (Slava Ukraini) 🇺🇸🇺🇦 (@AdamKinzinger) August 13, 2025

Within minutes, the account @DataRepublican posted a scathing reply that quickly went viral. Alongside screenshots from NPR, The New York Times, Newsweek, and The Washington Post—all offering critical takes on the ad campaign—he called out Kinzinger directly for attempting to “gaslight” the public into thinking the outrage was fabricated by one outlet.

“In less than 3 minutes,” the post reads, “I managed to take screenshots from New York Times, NPR, Newsweek, and WaPo all denouncing the Sydney Sweeney advertisement. So why would you make this post to try and gaslight us that nobody cares about Sydney Sweeney?”

The post goes further, suggesting that Kinzinger’s real issue isn’t with media coverage—but with what Sydney Sweeney now represents.

“Sydney Sweeney is turning into something your crowd didn’t script: a culturally resonant conservative icon,” @DataRepublican wrote. “That terrifies you, because it’s not part of the approved ‘civil society’ toolkit.”

Hello Mr. Kinzinger,

In less than 3 minutes, I managed to take screenshots from New York Times, NPR, Newsweek, and WaPo all denouncing the Sydney Sweeny advertisement.

So why would you make this post to try and gaslight us that nobody cares about Sydney Sweeney?

I’ll explain… pic.twitter.com/ZaCAzCN09b

— DataRepublican (small r) (@DataRepublican) August 13, 2025

The broader argument? That the left-leaning media sphere is uncomfortable with cultural figures—particularly attractive, feminine, and apolitical young women—being embraced by conservative audiences. In this case, the outrage over a punny “great jeans/genes” ad became a flashpoint for a larger cultural tug-of-war.

The ad in question was part of American Eagle’s Fall 2025 campaign. The line, co-designed by Sweeney, included wide-leg, low-rise jeans adorned with a butterfly patch, with proceeds going to Crisis Text Line. The tagline “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans”—a cheeky play on “great genes”—was viewed by some as a harmless pun and others as racially charged or tone-deaf.

Some claimed the messaging had undertones of eugenics, white beauty celebration, or retrograde gender politics. Others—including a number of celebrities and conservative commentators—praised it as an innocuous throwback ad that shouldn’t have been politicized.

But that didn’t stop elite media outlets from weighing in with critical op-eds and think pieces, many of which used language similar to what conservative critics argue amounts to cultural gatekeeping.

“The difference is,” the post concludes, “this time the icon emerged organically… That terrifies you.”

And judging by the 70,000+ views and thousands of likes and shares that reply has received, it seems Kinzinger’s attempt to brush off the controversy has only cemented it further.