Sydney Sweeney said her mother’s 2022 birthday party was an innocent celebration, not a political statement. After photos prompted some viewers to read red hats and a Blue Lives Matter shirt as political signals, Sweeney asked people not to make assumptions. In 2023, she added that the guests wearing the hats were not her family and that the hats said “Make Sixty Great Again.”
Why the birthday photos drew criticism
In 2022, Sweeney shared photos and videos from her mother’s 60th birthday, describing the cowboy-themed gathering as a “surprise hoedown.” Her brother also posted party photos. Some viewers focused on red hats that resembled campaign caps and a shirt that appeared to show a Blue Lives Matter design, interpreting the images as political signals.
That interpretation was not proof of the beliefs of the people pictured, or of Sweeney’s own views. The reported wording on the hats was “Make Sixty Great Again,” a reference to the birthday rather than an established campaign slogan or official campaign merchandise.
Sweeney’s immediate response in 2022
Sweeney addressed the reaction on Twitter, now X, and rejected the idea that the party had been intended as a political statement:
“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 wording above preserves the reported transcription, including “moms.”
What she clarified in 2023
In an August 2023 interview with Variety, Sweeney said there had been “so many misinterpretations” and clarified, “The people in the pictures weren’t even my family.” She described the hat-wearing guests as friends of her mother from Los Angeles who thought it would be funny to wear the hats while visiting Idaho.
The Independent also reported that the hats read “Make Sixty Great Again.” That clarification explains why they resembled political caps without establishing that they were MAGA merchandise or that the guests supported a particular candidate.
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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsHow this differs from later political coverage
The birthday-party backlash is separate from later coverage of Sweeney being labeled “MAGA Barbie” and of the American Eagle “Great Jeans” campaign. In a 2026 interview with Cosmopolitan, she addressed those later controversies, saying, “Those aren’t my values,” and that she had never been there to talk about politics. Those remarks should not be confused with her 2022 response to the birthday photos.
Cosmopolitan also quoted a separate December statement from Sweeney: “Anyone who knows me knows that I’m always trying to bring people together. I’m against hate and divisiveness.” The outlet reported that she acknowledged her silence had widened the divide. This was a later statement, not part of her original response about the party.
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