Euphoria’s Sydney Sweeney hits back at ‘absurd’ backlash after ‘Blue Lives Matter’ claims
Sydney Sweeney defended her family after a series of photos from her birthday party caused a backlash. (Getty)
Euphoria star Sydney Sweeney has spoken out after pictures of her mother’s birthday party appeared to show somebody wearing a Blue Lives Matter shirt.
The actor published a set of photos of her mother’s cowboy-themed 60th birthday party on Saturday (27 August) to her Instagram page with the caption: “No better way to celebrate my momma than a surprise hoedown.”
But fans were quick to spot one of the partygoers wearing what looked a thin blue line flag shirt. The flag is synonymous with the “Blue Lives Matter” movement, which arose in response to Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests demanding an end to police brutality against Black people.
Blue Lives Matter supporters believe that attacking police officers should be considered a hate crime. According to Indiana university law professor India Thusi, “‘Blue Lives Matter’ has become the rallying call for those offended by the suggestion that we should hold police officers accountable for killing unarmed Black people”.
It was also suggested that various red caps seen in the background of Sydney Sweeney’s photos were reminiscent of the MAGA caps worn by Trump supporters, though it is unclear whether the caps were actually branded with MAGA.
The images sparked intense discussions, with users commenting “this is uncomfy” and “all them red hats”.
Sydney Sweeney addressed the comments in a tweet on the same day, saying: “You guys this is wild. An innocent celebration for my mom’s 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 actor was accused of “gaslighting” her fans with the statement. One user cited an Instagram post of her bother, Trent Sweeney, posing with a child wearing a MAGA hat.
Assumptions? Don’t gaslight your fans (many are likely young progressive people based on the content of the show that gave you fame). Your family is obviously far-right based on the blue lives matter shirts and MAGA babies. pic.twitter.com/Gwcm4YZduz
— Frederick Joseph (@FredTJoseph) August 28, 2022
“You’re not the one wearing the shirt, so I’m going to cut you some serious slack with that,” one said. “But the absurd political statement was the shirt itself. Naturally, people are going to have something to say about that. Please accept and understand that.”
Another pointed out that the MAGA and blue lives matter movement are “explicit political statements”, and said that calling the backlash an assumption was missing the point.
It comes after Sydney Sweeney’s Euphoria co-star Hunter Schafer found herself in hot water for commenting and liking a “transmedicalist” post on Instagram that blamed non-binary people for politicians aiming to mitigate access to gender-affirming healthcare.
While Schafer hasn’t responded to the comments urging her to explain why she liked the post, others have taken the chance to explain why transmedicalism is an exclusionary ideology.
Transmedicalists are binary trans people who believe being transgender is inherently tied to gender dysphoria and, as a result, treat it as a kind of medical disorder that needs gender-affirming healthcare to help fix.
People who identify with transmedicalism sometimes claim that non-binary labels are merely the result of “transtrenders” who pretend to be trans for clout in the LGBTQ+ community.
Popular Twitter user Erin Reed explained in a thread that the issue of transmedicalism is “far more important than cancelling a young trans woman.
“I want to be very clear – transmedicalism does not save us. In fact, it’s the transmedicalist leaders that are pushing the hardest right now for anti-trans laws,” Reed continued.
PinkNews contacted Sydney Sweeney’s representative for comment.
