Sydney Sweeney Reflects on MAGA Hat-Gate: ‘There Were So Many Misinterpretations’
Sydney Sweeney has shared a few more details about the infamous, extremely online, and arguably very trivial “dust-up” over MAGA hat birthday party-gate in a new interview with Variety.
For those that may need reminding, take yourself back to the not-so-halcyon days of… last August, when Sweeney and her brother, Trent, shared some photos from their mother’s 60th birthday party. The pictures featured several people in what appeared to be Blue Lives Matter grab and/or Make America Great Again-style hats (that actually read “Make Sixty Great Again”), which, of course, created a torrent of memes and discourse.
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“There were so many misinterpretations,” Sweeney said of the incident before highlighting a particularly notable one: “The people in the pictures weren’t even my family. The people who brought the things that people were upset about were actually my mom’s friends from L.A. who have kids that are walking outside in the Pride parade, and they thought it would be funny to wear because they were coming to Idaho.”
Sweeney also seemed to discuss the backlash and criticism she received, along with the increased scrutiny that comes with fame: “People are so fast to build someone up, and then they love tearing them down,” she said. “And it’s so fascinating to see. Three years ago, I was going to college just like everybody else. And all of a sudden, I’m not a human anymore.”
At the time of the original online opprobrium, Sweeney asked that people “please stop making assumptions” about the situation. She briefly touched on it as well in an interview with British GQ last fall, saying, “Honestly, I feel like nothing I say can help the conversation. It’s been turning into a wildfire, and nothing I can say will take it back to the correct track.”
In the new Variety interview, Sweeney did discuss her family — and some of the misconceptions about them — in a bit more detail. For instance, she noted that her dad is not a doctor (as he’s been labeled on Wikipedia) but a hospitality professional who “lives on a ranch in Mexico, and doesn’t have internet or cell service.”
Of her mother, she said: “She grew up with barely anything. She got her GED when she was 16; she worked five jobs to put herself through school; she took care of her brothers; she takes care of everyone. It’s unbelievable seeing where she came from, and being able to show her this world now.”
Noting that her parents “sacrificed so much to support” her acting ambitions, Sweeney said she feels “a responsibility to show them that it was worth it.” That desire appears to extend to other members of her family, with Sweeney saying she relishes the opportunity to show them a different world than they’re used to.
“Most of my family have never even been on a plane before,” she said, before mentioning that she sometimes brings her cousin onto film or TV sets. “To help them grow and open their minds — that is what I love doing now.”
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