“The backlash isn’t about sex this time. It’s about dog whistles, idealized Americana, and exclusionary beauty standards” a woman says to the camera.
“Wait. We’re canceling denim now because a blonde girl in jeans is too American? What’s next: apple pie and sunsets?” a man replies.
These two are part of a debate on YouTube about the Sydney Sweeney jeans ad. The video, titled, “DEI, Culture Wars & Fashion Explode: The Jeans vs Genes Debate From Brooke Shields to Sydney Sweeney,” has 23,000 views. While the man and woman, called Civil Sally and Blunt Ben, are steadfast in their views, there is one catch: both are AI.
This video was created by Don’t Hate Debate TV, which posts AI debates for Gen Z to watch and think about. Led by Robin Lemberg, DHD TV covers the hot topics of today featuring the Sally and Ben, who debate in a calm and collected manner. They touch on topics like free speech, Israel-Palestine, gun rights, AI dating, and pop culture, and are putting out content that synthesize headlines from the left, right, and center so viewers can weight different points of view.
“I created DHD TV because Gen Z is what I call the ‘feelings generation,’” said Robin Lemberg, who also founded The Heart Monitors, a project dedicated to tracking and understanding antisemitism in America. The majority feel numb, unseen, unheard, and unable to have discussions with friends when they disagree. They don’t read the news in traditional ways, but two-thirds of them say they want to have discussions. They just don’t know how. We tried formal closed debates on campuses, we tried influencers and comedians — and none of it worked. In fact, it often did the opposite. That was the wake-up call.”
The goal is to make differing perspectives accessible, and to model how to disagree without dehumanizing. So far, the results have been positive.
“Since our Sydney Sweeney launch, I’ve produced 34 pieces of original content with a tiny, courageous team of Gen Zers,” said Lemberg. “The response: more than 250,000 organic views, over 1,000 hours of watch time (to me, the most important number), and subscriber growth now topping 100+ per day since the Kirk assassination.”
Now, to honor the memory of Charlie Kirk, who would engage in civil debates on college campuses, DHD TV is releasing a new video a week after his murder that features Sally and Ben talking about him.
“Kirk wasn’t RFK, but for Gen Z and Gen Alpha he represented something, and they will remember where they were when it happened,” said Lemberg. “Influencers on all sides are calling for change. My hope is that DHD TV can be part of that change, by showing that fierce disagreement and civility can exist in the same frame.”
For Lemberg, Judaism taught her that this is exactly what the world needs right now.
“At the heart of Judaism is the commitment to civility.”
“At the heart of Judaism is the commitment to civility. In fact, that’s where this idea began,” she said. “Jewish values are everyone’s values. I’ve spoken extensively about Brand Judaism: we have twelve tribes, we are divided on Israel, and yet we argue and engage with both our brains and our hearts at every gathering. Debate has, in essence, ensured our survival. That tradition is the root of Don’t Hate Debate TV.”
