Days after responding to the backlash surrounding the music video for his single, Try That In A Small Town, on Facebook, Jason Aldean addressed the controversy in person while performing at Cincinnati’s Riverbend Music Centre on Friday (21 July).
“I gotta tell you guys, it’s been a long-ass week,” he began, per Rolling Stone. “It’s been a long week, and I seen a lot of stuff, I seen a lot of stuff suggesting I’m this, suggesting I’m that. Hey, here’s the thing, here’s one thing I feel: I feel everyone’s entitled to their opinion. You can think something all you want to, it doesn’t mean it’s true.”
While Try That In A Small Town hit streaming services in May, the music video only aired on 14 July. Within days, CMT pulled the clip from rotation without providing a reason. It’s been speculated that controversy around the video led to CMT no longer playing the song.
The Try That In A Small Town video has been criticised for its pro-gun messaging and “racist dog whistling”, comments that have dominated social media in recent weeks. The music video finds Aldean standing before a church with an American flag draped over the entrance.
From there, the video weaves real-life footage of flag burning, protests, and a robbery at a convenience store. Aldean has denied “pro-lynching” allegations as the footage was reportedly filmed at a Columbia, Tennessee courthouse at the site of a 1933 lynching.
“What I am is a proud American… I love our country; I want to see it restored to what it once was before all this bullshit started happening to us,” Aldean continued. “I love my country, I love my family, and I will do anything to protect that; I’ll tell you right now.” The audience then exploded into a “USA” chant.
Condemning cancel culture, Aldean added, “Here’s what I want to say: A lot of things out there, one thing I love, you guys know how it is, cancel culture is a thing, it’s something where if people don’t like what you say, they try and make sure they can cancel you, which means try to ruin your life, ruin everything.
“One thing I saw this week was a bunch of country music fans that can see through a lot of the bullshit, alright? I saw country music fans rally like I never seen before, and that was pretty badass, I gotta say. Thank you guys so much.” You can watch footage of Aldean’s speech below.
Aldean’s address of the controversy is the first time he acknowledged the public backlash to a live audience.
On Facebook, he wrote that Try That In A Small Town “Refers to the feeling of a community that I had growing up, where we took care of our neighbors [sic], regardless of differences of background or belief. Because they were our neighbors [sic], and that was above any differences.”
Countrytown brings you Australia’s best country music news, interviews, charts and more every week! This post was authored by Countrytown and originally published on the Countrytown website. It has been re-published with permission.
