What soon unravels in the article is a description of Sweeney that paints her both as a hungry go-getter “keen to make money” and as having a cautious approach, so as not to say anything too contentious.
At times, Agnew writes Sweeney is visibly uncomfortable and regularly seeking assurance from her two publicists – even before her latest, loudest controversy.
“A petite 5ft 3in, she sat with her legs folded, fidgeting with little boxes of make-up and often talking to her publicists on the other side of the room. She pulled as far back from me as she could,” Agnew writes.
“I could feel the height of her fresh fame acutely, her words put so carefully one in front of the other that it sometimes felt she was doing everything she could to sound boring.”
Agnew points heavily to the media furore surrounding Sweeney’s American Eagle denim ad, which faced backlash over claims it pushed “eugenics” and “white supremacy” messaging.
Sweeney was subsequently identified as a registered Republican in Florida as of June last year.
The Anyone But You star previously came under question for her political stance after sharing photos of her mother’s 60th birthday celebrations in 2022, in which guests wore “Make sixty great again” caps in reference to President Donald Trump’s election slogan.
Agnew suspects the backlash Sweeney has faced to date was the reason for her “wariness” in the interview.
“In fact, she exhibited such discomfort about being there for the 50 minutes – in order to promote a new movie as well as a number of brands – that it verged on annoyance,” Agnew writes.
Elsewhere in the chat, Sweeney talks about her love of real estate, her property portfolio and collection of luxury cars.
“Each property has its own vibe,” she told the Times.
“So it needs its own cars to go with the vibe.”
Agnew notes Sweeney quickly paused, before shooting a look to her two publicists in the room.
“I suspect Sweeney knew all too well, even then, the consequences of saying anything that meant very much at all,” Agnew observes.
Sweeney later admitted to being uncomfortable with fame.
“Privacy [is] huge,” she said.
“You don’t realise how much that means until you lose it. I see all the time, ‘Oh, they sold themselves, they knew what they were signing up for’. But 18-year-old me had no idea what she was signing up for.
“I’ve always been guarded. Definitely more so now. You let few people in who you trust.”
She said her work ethic, and desire to be financially independent, stemmed from her humble upbringing, in which her hardworking parents moved from Washington to Hollywood heartland, Burbank, so Sweeney could pursue her acting career.
The trio, with Sweeney’s younger brother Trent Sweeney, lived in a modest one-bedroom flat.
“We were sharing a one-bedroom hotel room – no kitchen, no balcony,” Sweeney remembered.
“A pullout sofa bed, where my dad and brother slept, my mum and me in the bed. We’d run around the different hallways and find stairwells and make friends with all the staff.
“I just knew that I’d never allow myself to fail.
“I will always want to work harder, achieve more. I love to work. There’s 24 hours in a day, obviously, but I make sure that there’s 26 for me.”
Sweeney is yet to comment about backlash to her American Eagle ad.
