First, it was Sydney Sweeney in a pair of blue jeans, and the Left acted like American Eagle was secretly plotting the return of the Third Reich. Now? Dunkin’ Donuts — yes, the coffee-and-donuts chain — is the newest battlefield in the war on “problematic ads.” Their crime? Releasing a spot featuring actor Gavin Casalegno, a tanned young star of The Summer I Turned Pretty, talking about his “genes.”
NEW: Dunkin’ appears to release its own version of the American Eagle ad featuring actor Gavin Casalegno.
The Dallas, Texas-born model was heard talking about his “genes,” similar to the American Eagle ad.
“Look, I didn’t ask to be the king of summer. It just kind of… pic.twitter.com/kUzxNvB1Wp
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) July 30, 2025
Cue the meltdown.
Casalegno says in the ad:
“Look, I didn’t ask to be the king of summer. It just kind of happened. This tan? Genetics. I just got my color analysis back. Guess what? Golden summer. Literally.”
That’s it. That’s the whole thing. But in the fevered imaginations of the perpetually offended, this was somehow a secret signal to white nationalists — because apparently saying the word “genetics” now qualifies as a dog whistle.
Within hours, the usual suspects on social media were wailing about “racism,” “Aryanism,” and whatever else they could conjure up between sips of their oat milk lattes. Some even vowed to boycott Dunkin’. (Don’t worry, they’ll be back in line by Monday for their caramel swirls.)
OMG, now the liberal snowflakes on TikTok are being triggered by a Dunkin Donuts commercial
Enjoy this one pic.twitter.com/SebdCzXgZf
— Vince Langman (@LangmanVince) July 30, 2025
It didn’t stop there. Online commenters dug up old conservative-leaning posts from Casalegno, plus the fact that he — brace yourselves — goes to church. Horrifying, right? Next thing you know, he’ll be helping old ladies cross the street or volunteering at a youth camp.
Meanwhile, normal people are rolling their eyes. Some are applauding Dunkin’ for refusing to bend the knee to the Twitter mobs, noting that companies might finally be waking up to a simple truth: the loudest complainers online aren’t the ones keeping your lights on. Paying customers are. And those customers don’t want their coffee shop chain lecturing them on politics; they just want a cold brew and a Boston cream.
— Karen2448k (@AKaren2448k) July 30, 2025
At the end of the day, this isn’t about a coffee ad or a tan actor. It’s about companies finally realizing that catering to the perpetually outraged isn’t just bad business — it’s suicidal. Pretty faces selling coffee? Jeans ads with good-looking people? That’s what advertising used to be before corporations started running everything through a DEI committee.
