WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) – Following the pulling of the music video for his new hit song “Try That in a Small Town” from CMT (Country Music Television), renowned country music star Jason Aldean is defending himself against claims that he encouraged racism and lynching.
Aldean responded on Twitter to the claims stating that he felt the attacks were being made in bad faith due to the song being available since May.
“In the past 24 hours, I have been accused of releasing a pro-lynching song (a song that has been out since May) and was subject to the comparison that I was not too pleased with the nationwide BLM protests. These references are not only meritless but dangerous. There is not a single lyric in the song that references race or points to it- and there isn’t a single video clip that isn’t real news footage -and while I can try and respect others to have their own interpretation of a song with music- this one goes too far,” Aldean said.
The country music continued by discussing the inspiration behind the song and what the song’s lyrics mean to him saying, “‘Try That In A Small Town,’ for me, refers to the feeling of a community that I had growing up, where we took care of our neighbors, regardless of differences of background or belief. Because they were our neighbors, and that was above any differences. My political views have never been something I’ve hidden from, and I know that a lot of us in this Country don’t agree on how we get back to a sense of normalcy where we go at least a day without a headline that keeps us up at night. But the desire for it to that’s what this song is about.”
Social media users accused Aldean of being “pro-lynching” and referred to him as a “violent bigot” and a “racist,” while activist groups and the media members dubbed it “the most contemptible country song of the decade.”
When “‘Try That In A Small Town” debuted back in May, it quickly became the most downloaded country single of the week, and due to the controversy, the video has now tallied over one million views on Youtube and is currently the number one song on iTunes.
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