Euphoria star Sydney Sweeney responded to the backlash from photos she shared of her mother’s birthday party on Saturday. The pictures showed an unidentified family member wearing a “Blue Lives Matter” T-shirt and people were seen wearing parody versions of the “Make America Great Again” hat. On Twitter, Sweeney didn’t say her family’s political affiliation, and only asked fans to “stop making assumptions.”
Sweeney’s Instagram post included photos from her mother’s hoedown-themed party. One slide includes photos of the family line-dancing, with people wearing red baseball hats in the background. Sweeney’s brother Trent posted picturesย revealing the hats read, “Make Sixty Great Again,” a parody of former President Donald Trump’s slogan. Another picture shows a male relative wearing a black T-shirt with a black and white U.S. flag with a single blue line in the middle. This is known as a controversial symbol to show support for “Blue Lives Matter.” Sweeney’s caption made no reference to these political symbols. “No better way to celebrate my momma than a surprise hoedown,” she wrote.
Videos by PopCulture.com
Sweeney, 24, saw some of the backlashes to the pictures and took to Twitter to respond. “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,” she wrote. “Please stop making assumptions. Much love to everyone… and Happy Birthday Mom!”
Some of Sweeney’s followers felt the statement wasn’t enough because the actress didn’t say if she did or did not agree with her relatives’ politics. “So do you agree with them? You didn’t denounce their views,” one person wrote. “Then you should’ve selected other pictures to post that wouldn’t be left up to interpretation in this manner,” another Twitter user commented. “Lesson learned for you, I ‘assume.’”
The controversy for Sweeney comes at a time when she should be celebrating her latest career achievements. She scored Emmy nominations for both Euphoria and The White Lotus, which both aired on HBO. In July, she told PEOPLE she called her family almost immediately after she heard the news. “I’m in pre-production for Madame Webb, so I’m kind of all over the place today going from fittings to rehearsals to table reads,” she said. “I was in the car and my phone started blowing up. I saw it and I called my mom. Then, I called my team, then my dad, then my brother. I was just … sitting in the car!”
Sweeney stars as Cassie Howardย in Euphoria and is expected to return for Season 3. She played Olivia Mossbacher in The White Lotus Season 1. She is also working on Sony’s next Spider-Man universe movie, Madame Web, which opens on Oct. 6, 2023.
