Sydney Sweeney’s new film may have flopped at the box office, but her co-star Halsey isn’t staying silent about the backlash.
The Closer singer took to social media on Thursday to express her frustration after her new film, Americana, faced a boycott from fans because of co-star the Anyone But You star’s controversial American Eagle jeans ad.
In a now-deleted post, Halsey shared a copy of the poster for Americana, which prominently featured first-billed Sydney.
She also praised the movie and its director, Tony Tost.
“you should go see this movie. because @tonytost made an exceptional film, in honor of a genre he knows intimately,” the singer–songwriter wrote.
She went on to writer, “Because his work and his vision are greater than the 24 hr gossip tabloid denim bulls***.”
“He's an incredible artist who made a great film with a group of hardworking, talented people. If you love cinema, than you should know that cinema comes first [sic]. This is cinema,” Halsey added.
In a quickly deleted post, she shared a closeup with blood smeared on her chin, appearing to respond to fans who thought she was defending the film.
The Without Me singer clarified she was actually standing up for the crew behind Americana.
“I do agree that our words are important in this climate,” she clarified.
Halsey continued, “I don't, however, think that it's fair for the news cycle to predatorily rip a hardworking director and his hardworking crew for this film that is completely separate-from and unrelated-to a (pretty dumb) advertising take.”
“If it's not clear who the actual people I'm standing up for are, I'm sorry look closer,” she concluded.
Halsey and Sydney, 27, star in the crime thriller Americana as two women swept up in a bloody battle over a valuable stolen Native American artifact.
But Americana, which was released in theaters on August 15, faced the box office failure and only took in $500,000 against a reported $9 million budget.