Conservatives are vigorously defending country singer Jason Aldean after the video for his controversial song, “Try That in a Small Town,” was pulled from CMT rotation following accusations that the tune promotes gun violence and sundown towns.
While Aldean has fired back at his critics, claiming allegations that he released a “pro-lynching song” are “not only meritless, but dangerous,” the video itself was filmed at Maury County Courthouse in Columbia, Tennessee—the site of the 1927 mob lynching of Henry Choate, an 18-year-old Black man who was dragged through the streets before he was hanged from the building’s window.
The lyrics of the song, however, have drawn the most criticism. Seemingly taking issue with the BLM protests following the police killing of George Floyd, Aldean sings about how those who “cuss out a cop” or “stomp on the flag and light it up” will face retaliation from the “good ol’ boys” who were “raised up right” in the South.
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The dogwhistles grew loudest, perhaps, with the following lyrics: “Got a gun that my granddad gave me / They say one day they’re gonna round up / Well, that shit might fly in the city, good luck.”
With the tune’s in-your-face message prompting Democratic lawmakers to condemn it as a “heinous song calling for racist violence,” and the video no longer in CMT’s rotation, it was just a matter of time before the right-wing outrage machine rallied around behind Aldean and the song itself.
Longshot GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who has made anti-wokeness a key component of his campaign, tweeted out the video on Wednesday while complaining about the “cancellation” of Aldean’s song. According to Ramaswamy, the same critics blasting “Try That in a Small Town” are the ones who glorified an inflammatory Ice-T track that conservatives wanted to ban in the early 1990s.
“Jason Aldean writes a song defending the values that ALL Americans used to share - faith, family, hard work, patriotism - only to be immediately sacrificed at the altar of censorship & cancellation,” he wrote on Twitter. “These are the same people who cheer songs like ‘Cop Killer’ & the glorification of sex and violence in hip-hop. Stand strong against these hypocrites and opportunist frauds, @Jason_Aldean. It’d be a real shame if the song hits #1. We’ll do our part & play it at our rallies.”
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem posted a video on Wednesday declaring herself “so impressed” with Aldean’s single, adding that her “good friend” helped write it. Continuing with the pandering, Noem said she had initially “hoped the video would be shot in South Dakota,” but now she’ll let the “persecuted” Aldean “play anywhere” in her state and “facilitate” any concert appearances by the artist, including at the governor’s mansion.
With Aldean, who has previously sparked controversy over his right-wing political views, digging in his heels and claiming his song is really just about getting “back to a sense of normalcy,” conservative pundits cheered him on for refusing to apologize.
“Good for Jason Aldean not backing down on this idiotic non-troversy,” Daily Wire founder Ben Shapiro tweeted. “Never apologize for your perspective based on the bad-faith trollery of the Twitterverse.”
Others, meanwhile, suggested that CMT could soon follow the same path as another brand that was previously beloved among conservative audiences before it got too “woke.”
“This is the Jason Aldean video that CMT pulled for being ‘too controversial,’” MAGA influencer Ryan Fournier wrote, alongside a clip of the song. “This song represents me and millions of others. CMT pulled a Bud Light and we won’t forget.”
Sharing an article claiming CMT is accused of “pulling a Bud Light,” right-wing troll Rogan O’Handley groused that “most mainstream artists promote drugs, gangs, violence, and sleeping around” before adding: “Screw CMT.”
Naturally, Fox News had to offer its support to Aldean while raging about “cancel culture” coming for the 46-year-old country superstar. And the hosts of the network’s morning flagship Fox & Friends did not disappoint.
Pointing out how a gun-safety advocate expressed disappointment in Aldean’s pro-gun message, seeing as he performed at the 2017 Las Vegas festival that ended in a horrific mass shooting with 58 dead, co-host Ainsley Earhardt came to the singer’s defense.
“Come on, people. It’s a song about how great small towns are and we look out for each other,” Earhardt exclaimed.
Her colleagues Steve Doocy and Brian Kilmeade, meanwhile, were seemingly well aware of how much influence their network’s wall-to-wall coverage of the “crime crisis” in Democratic-run large cities had on Aldean’s video and song.
“He used real footage and real news, and they say he is being biased,” Kilmeade huffed, adding: “We see the footage; nothing is inaccurate. He is writing about real life.”
Doocy concluded: “We are in a big town and talk about how other towns are soft on crime. He’s just writing a song and showing that, and because of outrage from some, the song is pulled off CMT.”
