Overview

• Halsey posted that viewers should see the film, praising director Tony Tost and dismissing “denim” gossip, in messages later deleted from social platforms.
• In a follow-up, Halsey said words matter but argued the news cycle unfairly targeted the director and crew, calling the advertising take “pretty dumb.”
• Director Tony Tost wrote on X that movies can outlive the zeitgeist and said he hopes the film will be judged fairly once the moment passes.
• Americana opened to roughly $500,000 in its nationwide debut across 1,123 theaters, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
• American Eagle removed the contentious video but defended the campaign as being about denim, while figures including President Trump praised the ad and critics condemned its genes wordplay as evoking eugenics.