Digital Social Hour – Episode Summary

Podcast: Digital Social Hour
Host: Sean Kelly
Guest: Jennifer Sey (Former Levi’s CMO, Founder of XXY Athletics)
Episode: #1635 – "Former Levi’s CMO Jennifer Sey: Why I Left, Why I Fought Back & What Brands Don’t Get"
Date: November 23, 2025

Episode Overview

In this candid, unfiltered conversation, Sean Kelly welcomes Jennifer Sey—once the Chief Marketing Officer of Levi’s and now founder of XXY Athletics—for a forthright exploration of her career, activism, and perspectives on business and culture. The discussion traverses Jennifer’s exit from Levi’s, her crusade for women’s sports, brand missteps in marketing, political and social upheavals since 2020, and her concerns on issues from manufacturing ethics to public schooling. The dialogue is marked by Jennifer’s uncompromising opinions and Sean’s probing questions, touching on headline-grabbing marketing campaigns, corporate hypocrisy, and the culture wars shaping America today.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Brand Transparency & Ethical Manufacturing

• No Production in China (00:00, 17:12)
  • Jennifer explains why XXY Athletics refuses to manufacture in China—primarily due to lack of transparency and inability to confirm humane factory conditions.
    • "In China, you cannot enter the factories. There's no transparency. ... If you're not going to let me in, I'm not making stuff there." (Jennifer, 00:00 / 17:12)
  • Strong commitment to visiting every production site and valuing both quality and worker decency.

2. XXY Athletics & Women's Sports Advocacy

• Founding Mission (00:47)
  • XXY Athletics is positioned as the athletic brand defending the exclusivity of women’s sports for biological females.
    • "We want women's sports to be for women only, which seems sort of obvious, but it's not right now." (Jennifer, 00:47)
• Activism in Collaboration (01:06)
  • Collaboration with Riley Gaines as spokesperson; success in merchandise drops.
• Policy & Cultural Battles (01:29, 02:18)
  • Changes in US athletic policy, including executive orders and NCAA/U.S. Olympic Committee decisions.
  • Ongoing legal and cultural clashes in various states, especially "blue" states resisting restrictions.

3. Personal Athletic Experience & Whistleblowing

• Reports of Abuse in Gymnastics (05:33)
  • Jennifer’s own background as a national team gymnast, enduring and exposing abuse long before the #MeToo movement.
    • "I wrote a book... It was the first whistleblower account of abuse in the sport, which now everybody knows about because of Larry Nassar." (Jennifer, 05:33)
• Long struggle for recognition, eventual vindication as abusive coaches banned decades later.
• Her injuries and disregard for athlete wellbeing revealed systemic issues (08:03, 09:23).

4. Brand Management & Recent Marketing Controversies

• Cracker Barrel & Bud Light Marketing Failures (11:10, 13:43)
  • Brands' attempts to rebrand or chase new audiences often reflect disconnect and elitism.
    • "It's the cardinal sin in brand management. Know your customer. ...I think she [Cracker Barrel CEO] doesn't like the current customer." (Jennifer, 11:10)
    • "That [Bud Light] head of marketing said... our current customer is fratty and out of touch. She didn't like him. Well, tough, if you don't like him, he likes Bud Light." (Jennifer, 13:43)
• Levi’s Turnaround Example (14:28)
  • Jennifer details her turnaround strategy—respecting legacy, learning from devoted customers, and communicating core brand values in modern ways.

5. Competition, Manufacturing, & Apparel Industry

• Apparel Industry Challenges (16:26)
  • Increased competition in jeans, high production costs, and import tariffs.
• Push for US Manufacturing (17:00, 18:33)
  • Difficulty bringing apparel production back to the US due to lost skilled labor and factories.
    • "There haven't been factories in the United States in a meaningful way since the mid to late 90s." (Jennifer, 18:22)

6. Changing Societal Norms & Marketing: American Eagle Example

• Sydney Sweeney Campaign (19:14)
  • Praise for reverting to “hot girls in jeans” as effective, “aspirational” advertising.
    • "Hot girls and jeans sell stuff. ...We buy the aspiration. ...The best part...they didn't apologize." (Jennifer, 19:16/21:09)
  • Critique of “norm-challenging” campaigns pushed as inclusive but not commercially successful.

7. Corporate Disconnection & “Eat the Dog Food” Philosophy

• Authenticity in Leadership (22:59)
  • Emphasis on executives loving their own products and customers.
    • "You have to love the product. You have to know the consumer. If you're not going to love it and you're not going to wear it, how can you convince other people to?" (Jennifer, 22:59)

8. Ideological Shifts & COVID-19 Response

• Political Realignment (24:37)
  • COVID response, especially school lockdowns and hypocrisy in blue states, triggered Jennifer’s shift away from Democrats.
    • "Covid turned me. I'll never vote Democrat again. ...Everything the Democrats said they stood for, they betrayed all of their own stated values." (Jennifer, 28:09)
• Censorship & Social Media (29:05)
  • Experiences of censorship for advocating reopening schools, decrying how dissent was systematically silenced by both tech and government.

9. Gender, Pronouns, and Local Laws

• Colorado Law & Brand Impact (32:56)
  • Colorado’s law criminalizing “misgendering” and Jennifer’s legal challenge.
    • "We're suing the state...if some man who thinks he's a woman came in to provoke me and I said, 'sir, can I help you?' He could press charges." (Jennifer, 33:04)
  • Importance of using biologically correct pronouns in company material (34:02).

10. On “Trans” Issues & Schools

• Perspectives on Gender Identity (35:15, 51:14)
  • Jennifer maintains her support for reality-based language and spaces, expressing concern for the impact of gender ideology on children and gay youth.
    • "It's all mental illness. ...Do you really believe there's such a thing as being born in the wrong body? I don't believe it." (Jennifer, 50:31)
  • Concerns about transitional procedures in public schools and potential “grooming” of gay children toward medicalized identities (51:14).

11. Societal Changes – Urban America & Homelessness

• City Decline (39:39, 41:46)
  • Firsthand accounts of San Francisco’s, LA’s, NY’s downtown decline, rising crime, homelessness, and difficulties in urban life post-pandemic.
    • "You can't have a thriving city with no downtown. ...50% of the storefronts closed downtown." (Jennifer, 40:49)
• Middle Class Erosion (44:01)
  • Prediction that American cities will split into ultra-rich and homeless, with the middle class squeezed out.

12. Progress & Hope

• Continued Advocacy (45:30)
  • Despite dark subjects, Jennifer expresses hope regarding the progress made to protect women’s sports, referencing new regulations in international boxing and possible change in global sports standards (46:13).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Transparency in Manufacturing:
  "If you're not going to let me in [the factory], I'm not making stuff there." (Jennifer, 00:00 / 17:12)

• Protecting Women’s Sports:
  "We want women's sports to be for women only, which seems sort of obvious, but it's not right now." (Jennifer, 00:47)

• On Brand Loyalty:
  "You have to love the product. You have to know the consumer. ...If you're not going to wear it, how can you convince other people to?" (Jennifer, 22:59)

• On COVID and Political Awakening:
  "Covid turned me. I'll never vote Democrat again. ...Everything the Democrats said they stood for, they betrayed." (Jennifer, 28:09)

• On Gender & Pronouns:
  "Once you grant that if you say this person is a woman because they think they are, then how do you say you can't come into our sports and spaces?" (Jennifer, 35:19)

• On Marketing & Apology Culture:
  "The best part is they [American Eagle] didn't apologize. ...No one bent a knee. Sydney Sweeney didn't bend a knee. The president of American Eagle didn't. They just made bigger billboards. I think it's awesome." (Jennifer, 21:28)

• City Decay:
  "It's a totally... completely unlivable [San Francisco]. ...It's gonna end up being very, very rich people...and homeless people. No middle class." (Jennifer, 43:40)

Key Timestamps

• 00:00 – Refusal to manufacture in China: transparency and ethics
• 00:47 – XXY Athletics mission and launch
• 01:22 – Policy progress in women’s sports, legal and cultural battles
• 05:33 – Early whistleblowing on gymnastics abuse
• 11:10–14:13 – Cracker Barrel, Bud Light, and marketing missteps
• 14:28–16:16 – Jennifer’s approach to reviving Levi’s
• 17:00, 18:33 – Challenges of US and overseas manufacturing
• 19:14–21:28 – Analysis of American Eagle’s Sydney Sweeney campaign
• 22:59 – Importance of authenticity in brand leadership
• 24:37–29:05 – Political awakening due to Covid, censorship, and lockdowns
• 32:56–34:02 – Colorado’s misgendering law; impact on business and speech
• 35:15, 50:31 – Views on gender identity and mental health
• 39:39, 41:46–44:01 – Urban decline, homelessness, and societal fragmentation
• 45:30–46:29 – Hope and progress in women’s sports advocacy

Final Thoughts

Jennifer Sey’s appearance on Digital Social Hour radiates with directness and conviction. She traverses commercial, political, and cultural minefields, advocating for transparency, authenticity, and principled resistance—in branding, in sports, and in society. For listeners, this episode offers sharp insight into how brands can self-sabotage, why personal values matter in the face of corporate consensus, and the real-world consequences of culture wars playing out in business, government, and community life.

Recommended for:
Brand strategists, marketers, athletes, culture commentators, and anyone interested in the interplay of ethics, corporate America, and polarized politics.