Club described "American Wedding" as Ocean's "boldest move", calling the song "dark, playful, a little tasteless, and absolutely riveting".
[11] In 2012, representatives of Don Henley, the Eagles' lead vocalist and co-writer of "Hotel California", issued a cease-and-desist letter, threatening legal action if Ocean continued to perform or distribute the song.
[14][15] He expressed frustration at the legal actions, asserting that the track was a free release and intended to honor the original, not to generate profit: "He (They) threatened to sue if I perform it again.
[17] He stated that Ocean "did not understand or respect intellectual property", and younger artists looked at songs as "interactive playthings".
[18] His remarks were criticized by Stereogum which accused him of condemning Ocean "for something that amounts to an homage" while overlooking the influence of African-American genres, like R&B, on his and the Eagles' music.