Sydney Sweeney Told Fans To “Stop Making Assumptions” About Her Family Party Pics

Days after Barbie Ferreira announced she was leaving Euphoria via Instagram, a co-star’s social media post is also causing a stir — albeit for a very different season. On Aug. 27, Sydney Sweeney took to Instagram to share a collection of family photos from her mom’s 60th birthday party. “No better way to celebrate my momma than a surprise hoedown,” the Emmy nominee wrote in the caption to the gallery of snaps — which include Sweeney wearing a cowboy hat on a mechanical bull and dancing in a barn with her family.

Naturally, many commenters initially commented on the Western vibes with a Euphoria nod — “Are you auditioning for Oklahoma?” they wrote, referencing Cassie’s bathroom breakdown scene (and accompanying country belle look). Ordinarily, the social media response might have stopped there — however, several fans noticed apparent political symbols among the celebrants’ outfits. In Sweeney’s gallery, for example, a man can be seen wearing a black American flag T-shirt with a blue stripe — which, Vanity Fair points out, is associated with Blue Lives Matter.

Sweeney’s brother, Trent Sweeney, also shared photos that show guests wearing red hats that read “MAKE SIXTY GREAT AGAIN,” similar to Donald Trump’s campaign hats and slogan.

Trent clarified the text on the hats in the caption of his own post — which was edited from its original, per Instagram.

Though they’re not technically MAGA hats, the familiar symbol of Trump’s presidency — combined with the apparent Blue Lives Matter symbol — caused many Twitter users to speculate on and criticize Sweeney and her family’s politics.

Sweeney then took to Twitter to address the negative response to her family photos. “You guys this is wild,” she wrote. “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.”

Her tweet didn’t do much to quell many users’ criticism, though. “Your dad was making a political statement with the blue lives matter shirt and you continued to hand pick the pictures and post them to your huge platform,” wrote one Twitter user.

Author Frederick Joseph also questioned Sweeney’s response. “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,” he wrote.

Sweeney hasn’t specifically commented on her family’s politics yet — though she’s discussed their relationship in past interviews. Her family moved from Spokane, Washington, to Los Angeles so she could pursue an acting career, she recently revealed to The Hollywood Reporter. “We lived in one room,” she recalled, adding that the financial strain didn’t help her parents’ marriage.

“I thought that if I made enough money, I’d be able to buy my parents’ house back and that I’d be able to put my parents back together,” she said. “But when I turned 18, I only had $800 to my name. My parents weren’t back together and there was nothing I could do to help.”