Halsey is standing by her new film Americana as co-star Sydney Sweeney faces controversy over a recent American Eagle ad campaign.

The 30-year-old singer and actress, who stars in the crime thriller alongside Sweeney, took to social media on Thursday (Aug. 21) to show support for the Tony Tost-directed feature, which has become the subject of online debate amid calls for boycotts tied to Sweeney’s involvement.

“You should go see this movie,” Halsey wrote on her Instagram Story, sharing a poster for Americana, according to screenshots published by Page Six. “Because @tonytost made an exceptional film, in honor of a genre he knows intimately. Because his work and his vision are greater than the 24 hr gossip tabloid denim bulls—t.”

The “Without Me” singer continued, “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. This is cinema.”

Halsey’s remarks appear to address the backlash over Sweeney’s recent American Eagle campaign, which launched in late July. The ad features the Euphoria star using the phrases “great jeans” and “great genes” interchangeably. Critics online called the messaging tone-deaf, especially given its emphasis on Sweeney’s blue eyes and blonde hair — imagery some likened to racist and eugenicist propaganda from the WWII era.

“I do agree that our words are important in this climate,” Halsey wrote in a second post. “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.”

She closed, writing, “If it’s not clear who the actual people I’m standing up for are, I’m sorry look closer.”

Americana, which follows a group of characters in pursuit of a rare Native American artifact, earned a disappointing $500,000 from its Aug. 15 launch in more than 1,100 theaters, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The cast also includes Paul Walter Hauser, Eric Dane, Zahn McClarnon and Simon Rex.

Director Tony Tost, making his feature debut, addressed the surrounding controversy on X a day before the film’s release.

“One of the great things about movies is that they outlive the zeitgeist into which they were released,” he wrote. “As someone whose first film sorta got gobbled up by the zeitgeist, I’ll be curious to see how it’ll stand up after this moment is over. Hopefully fairly well!”

Sweeney had not commented on the controversy at press time. It marks the second time in recent months the White Lotus alum has come under fire for an ad campaign. In June, she partnered with Dr. Squatch on a bar soap made with her actual bathwater, an idea that was widely criticized as antifeminist and exploitative.

Just before unleashing Man’s Best Friend, Sabrina Carpenter is looking back fondly at Short n’ Sweet, last year’s hit album that spent four weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Short n’ Sweet popped up one year ago, on Aug. 23, 2024, led by the trio of singles “Espresso,” “Please Please Please” and “Taste.”

Carpenter not only earned her first No. 1 with the set, but also her first Grammy, in the pop vocal album category. Short n’ Sweet had the entertainer living life on the road on an arena tour across North America and Europe that resumes this October (perhaps with a set list refresh incorporating tracks from Man’s Best Friend, out Aug. 29).

Man’s Best Friend promo saw a brief interruption Saturday (Aug. 23) when the pop star penned a note on Instagram giving Short n’ Sweet one more minute to shine. There, she also posted a carousel of visual memories from the past year — looking back at on-set moments, photo shoots, live performances, award show wins and more.

“pausing from MBF to say happy one year of Short n’ Sweet,” Carpenter wrote. “one year of kiss marks, camaraderie, and being so f—ing horny.”

“this album is one of my most prized possessions and brought me closer to myself as well as so many beautiful people and places,” said the singer, who in just a week will release her next studio album — her seventh — featuring the Billboard Hot 100-topping lead single “Manchild” among the 12 tracks found on the standard version. (There’s a bonus 13th track expected on a special edition vinyl variant.)

Celebrating Short n’ Sweet in her Instagram post, she added, “Thank you for still listening every single day x thank you for coming to the shows and singing till your lungs give out, thank you for loving these songs and every damn lyric as much as i do! Thank you to all my friends i got to make every song with, every video with, create the live shows with. One of the most fun years I’ve had in my whole life. I’ll never take it for granted!!! Love you all infinitely.”

See the photos Carpenter shared on Instagram. Soon after releasing Man’s Best Friend, she’ll be performing on Sept. 7 at the 2025 VMAs.

The Last Dinner Party withdrew from their scheduled performance at Victorious Festival on Saturday (Aug. 23) in protest of an incident involving fellow band the Mary Wallopers, whose set was cut short after they showed support for Palestine.

The British indie rock-pop group announced their decision on social media Saturday morning, referencing the previous day’s events in which the Mary Wallopers displayed a Palestinian flag on stage and called for a “Free Palestine.”

“We are outraged by the decision made to silence the Mary Wallopers yesterday at Victorious,” the Last Dinner Party wrote on Instagram. “As a band we cannot cosign political censorship and will therefore be boycotting the festival today.”

They continued, “As Gazans are deliberately plunged into catastrophic famine after two years of escalating violence it is urgent and obvious that artists use their platform to draw attention to the cause. To see an attempt to direct attention away from the genocide in order to maintain an apolitical image is immensely disappointing.”

The Last Dinner Party also encouraged fans to donate to medical aid for Palestinians and closed their message with “Free Palestine.”

On Friday (Aug. 22), members of the Mary Wallopers took the stage at Victorious Festival carrying a Palestinian flag and voiced the message, “Free Palestine and f—k Israel.” Their sound was cut off after a crew member removed the flag, prompting the band to lead a chant of “Free Palestine” and encourage festival-goers to leave.

The incident was documented in a video posted on the Mary Wallopers’ Instagram.

“We are uploading this video so everybody can see @victoriousfestival cut our gig short for having a Palestinian flag on stage,” the Irish band captioned the post. “The festival have released a misleading statement to the press claiming they cut our sound because of a discriminatory chant and not the band’s call to Free Palestine. Our video clearly shows a Victorious crew member coming on stage, interfering with our show, removing the flag from the stage and then the sound being cut following a chant of ‘Free Palestine.’ The same crew member is later heard in the video saying ‘you aren’t playing until the flag is removed.’”

On Saturday, Victorious Festival organizers addressed the incident in a statement on their Facebook page.

“We are in the business of putting on great shows, not cutting them off and this is the last thing we wanted, for the band, their fans and ourselves,” the statement read. “We didn’t handle the explanation of our policy sensitively or far enough in advance to allow a sensible conclusion to be reached. This put the band and our own team in a difficult situation which never should have arisen. We would like to sincerely apologise to all concerned.”

The organizers added, “We absolutely support the right of artists to freely express their views from the stage, within the law and the inclusive nature of the event. Our policy of not allowing flags of any kind, which has been in place for many years for wider event management and safety reasons, is not meant to compromise that right.”

The statement concluded, “We accept that, although mics remained live for longer, sound for The Mary Wallopwers’ audience was cut as described in the band’s video and that comments after that were not audible to the public. We are sorry that this situation has come about and will be making a substantial donation to humanitarian relief efforts for the Palestinian people.”

Several other acts, including The Academic and Cliffords, have also announced they will be boycotting this year’s Victorious Festival.

The 2025 edition of Victorious launched on Friday and runs through Sunday (Aug. 24), with headliners including Queens of the Stone Age, Vampire Weekend and Kings of Leon.

From career milestones to new music releases to major announcements and those little important moments, Billboard editors highlight uplifting moments in Latin music. Here’s what happened in the Latin music world this week.

Maria Becerra’s Acting Debut

Argentine singer-songwriter Maria Becerra has made acting debut on Netflix’s new series En El Barro, the spin-off of the series El Marginal, produced by Netflix and Underground, a division of Telemundo Studios. Becerra, who also performs the series official song, “7 Vidas,” steps into the role of Cleo, “a young woman from the neighborhood who falls in love and faces motherhood while struggling to keep her child close in the midst of extreme circumstances,” according to an official description of her character. “Through this character, Maria portrays the fight for motherhood and the sacrifices made under adverse conditions.” The series is now streaming on Netflix — watch the trailer below:

Leading Ladies of Entertainment Class of 2025

The Latin Recording Academy announced on Tuesday (Aug. 19) its 2025 Leading Ladies of Entertainment honorees. The program, created nine years ago, honors and recognizes professional and socially conscious women in the arts and Latin entertainment fields who have made significant contributions and inspired future leaders.

The honorees are singer-songwriter Rozalen, and Latin music executives Maricarmen “Tuti” Bou, Amarilys Germán, and Paula Kaminsky. The women will be celebrated during Latin Grammy Week in Las Vegas, with Amazon Music joining as presenting sponsor for the second consecutive year.

“I am proud to present our Leading Ladies of Entertainment honorees, an exceptional group of women who have distinguished themselves not just through their successful careers but also through their work outside of the professional realm,” Manuel Abud, CEO of The Latin Recording Academy, said in a statement. “Our past honorees have helped grow our Mentorship Program, and we look forward to having this year’s class continue that legacy and empower future generations of young women.”

Gloria Trevi’s Special Honor

Mexican star Gloria Trevi will be the 2025 Hispanic Heritage Legend Award honoree, the Hispanic Heritage Foundation announced earlier this week. “Her fearless artistry, record-breaking tours and unwavering advocacy embody the spirit of this recognition,” Antonio Tijerino, Hispanic Heritage Foundation president/CEO, said in a statement.

The ceremony will take place on Sept. 4 at the Warner Theater in Washington, D.C., and will air nationally on PBS. Rauw Alejandro was previously announced as the 2025 Hispanic Heritage Award honoree for Vision.

DY Returns to Latin Music Week

DY is set to speak at the 2025 Billboard Latin Music Week, slated to run Oct. 20–24 at the Fillmore Miami Beach. The Puerto Rican superstar will lead the panel titled “The Power of Reinvention,” where the hitmaker will open up about his “legendary career, the evolution of his artistry, and how he is shaping his next chapter,” according to a press release.

Latin Music Week will feature panels, live performances, workshops, and networking events, wrapping up with a special celebration concert on Oct. 24. The event aligns with the 2025 Billboard Latin Music Awards, airing live from Miami on Thursday, Oct. 23 on Telemundo and Peacock. Tickets for Latin Music Week 2025 are now available at BillboardLatinMusicWeek.com.

Missy Elliot has reached a settlement with a music producer who claims to have co-written several of her songs from the 1990s, resolving the nearly seven-year-old dispute just as a trial was about to begin.

Law360 and Courthouse News Service both reported on Friday (Aug. 22) that Elliott’s lawyers and Terry Williams, who’s representing himself, arrived at a settlement in a Philadelphia federal courtroom just minutes before they were set to start selecting a jury for their copyright trial.

Details of the settlement were not immediately available, and neither Elliott’s attorneys nor Williams returned Billboard’s request for comment on Friday.

The lawsuit, which has been making its way through the court system since 2018, centers on the R&B girl group Sista, where Elliott got her start before breaking out as a solo artist in the late ’90s.

Williams, a music producer who once owned a Philadelphia recording studio, claims he and Elliott co-wrote four songs off Sista’s 1994 album 4 All the Sistas Around da World: “Sweat You Down,” “Secret Admirer,” “I Wanna Know” and “I Wanna Be with U.” He alleged that Elliott unfairly left him off the songwriting credits, and was seeking through the lawsuit to get royalties dating back to the 1994 album release.

Elliott, meanwhile, maintained throughout the case that Williams “did not write a single lyric or in any manner contribute to any of the songs” off 4 All the Sistas Around da World. Elliott said she did not even meet Williams until after she’d delivered the album to Elektra Records.

Judge Nitza I. Quiñones Alejandro ruled last year that due to these conflicting narratives, the lawsuit could only be resolved by a jury weighing the evidence and deciding who to believe. But the judge threw out an additional claim from Williams that alleged he and Elliott also co-wrote the 1996 Aaliyah song “Heartbroken,” saying this part of the case was barred by the statute of limitations.

Williams’ lawsuit also targeted Timbaland, who produced 4 All the Sistas Around da World, as well as Elektra, Atlantic Records, Warner Music Group and Reservoir Media. Those claims were all paused until the outcome of the Elliott trial, and they still remain pending.