It was as predictable as the sun rising in the east – as soon as there was a backlash against Jason Aldean’s pro-lynching song “Try That in a Small Town,” there was a backlash against the backlash. CMT did the right thing by pulling the music video – which was staged at the site of an infamous lynching – this week after the video had only been airing for a few days. Other musical artists and gun-control advocates have been slamming Aldean for the song and the video. So of course the GOP and their wingnuts are tripping over themselves to declare Aldean as their favorite son of the south.
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.
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.
It keeps going and going – right-wing pundits and conservative columnists are now chiming in how wokeness has come for Jason Aldean, that Aldean has been “canceled” by the left-wing mob. Literally the only thing that’s happened is that CMT said “we don’t want to air this trash on our network.” That’s it. The music video is still on YouTube, country music radio is still playing the song and I’m sure people are still streaming it. Nevermind the fact that Aldean’s album is still available for purchase – it hasn’t been banned anywhere either. No one is blocking his concerts or tours either. This is the new dumbf–k culture war, guys. Forget Bud Light, forget Hunter Biden – the new battleground is “the government should force CMT to air Jason Aldean’s lynching song!”
.@Jason_Aldean I’m from a small town. Even people in small towns are sick of violence.There’s nothing small-town or American about promoting violence. You should know that better than anyone having survived a mass shooting.
This is not American or small town-like. It’s just lame https://t.co/cuOtUO9xjr
— Sheryl Crow (@SherylCrow) July 19, 2023
Uvalde? Small town.
VA Tech? Small college town.
Newtown? Small New England town.
Parkland? Small town that had just been voted Florida's *safest* town.Most mass shootings occur in *small towns* @Jason_Aldean. Your listeners are dying. https://t.co/NlUN8uBzZ2
— yung auntie (she/her). (@MsPackyetti) July 17, 2023
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
-
- 174800, Jason Aldean, Brittany Kerr at the 53rd Academy of Country Music Awards at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada – Sunday April 15, 2018. Photograph: © Joe Sutter, PacificCoastNews. Los Angeles Office (PCN): +1 310.822.0419 UK Office (Avalon): +44 (0) 20 7421 6000,Image: 514946515, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS – DIRECT SALES ONLY- Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251, Model Release: no, Credit line: Joe Sutter, PacificCoastNews / Avalon
-
- 174800, Jason Aldean at the 53rd Academy of Country Music Awards at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada – Sunday April 15, 2018. Photograph: © Joe Sutter, PacificCoastNews. Los Angeles Office (PCN): +1 310.822.0419 UK Office (Avalon): +44 (0) 20 7421 6000,Image: 514983962, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS – DIRECT SALES ONLY- Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251, Model Release: no, Credit line: Joe Sutter, PacificCoastNews / Avalon
-
- Jason Aldean, Brittany Kerr at the 54th Academy Of Country Music Awards at MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada – Sunday April 7, 2019. Photograph: © Joe Sutter/PacificCoastNews. Los Angeles Office (PCN): +1 310.822.0419 UK Office (Avalon): +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 sales@pacificcoastnews.com,Image: 535816023, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS – Los Angeles Office (PCN): +1 310.822.0419 UK Office (Avalon): +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 sales@pacificcoastnews.com, Model Release: no, Credit line: Joe Sutter/PacificCoastNews / Avalon
All the racists trying to save their racist singer/song writers song. No surprise there. Man this world is just sucking right now. Trying to stay positive but this makes it harder.
The guy and this song knew exactly what they were saying.
Their is no confusion.
Garbage.
Songs and fans of songs like this are why I hate a lot of country music.
Not far from where he shot the video, just in the last couple of weeks, klan posters were nailed up to the doors of black churches. Jason’s trying to play cute on the message of the song but he was very intentional in both the words and the video and everyone knows it.
i wonder if he’s a DESATAN (ron desantis) SUPPORTER. . . . . . . . .🤨🤔
I said this yesterday, he will be a bigger star in that disgusting maga community. An that trash song will be a the soundtrack for Trump klan rallies.
Aldean and his mistress wife will ride this until the legs break.
Yup. Playing to the base.
TBF, this ode to lynching suits his rallies a lot more than “Fortunate son” or “Born in The USA” but yeah, trash song for trash people.
I remember when Reagan used “Born in the USA” as campaign music. IIRC Bruce Springsteen not only made him stop but also pointed out that it is far from being a patriotic song! Just the opposite, in fact. (Does Trump actually use it at his rallies too? And does he use “Fortunate Son”? Because that would be even weirder, considering what it’s about.)
My dad, who listens to country music pretty much all day, said he’d never heard of this song, though it’s been out for months. I’m guessing Aldean made a deliberately incendiary video to boost attention to the song. FAFO.
Not surprising. Definitely seems like this controversy is exactly what he wants. Gross.
I agree. Alden apparently decided that the lyrics alone were too subtle for his fans. He’s hating all the way to the bank, and enjoying the publicity. Next he’ll probably announce plans to run for office.
What I don’t get is the comment from Vivek Ramaswamy . Apparently he hasn’t personally experienced being in a sundown town after dark yet. It might surprise him in ways that he may not expect. It’s fascinating to me that he’s a proponent of “anti-wokeness”. Could someone please pull his coat — and tell him that it’s thanks to “wokeness” that immigration laws were changed, allowing his family to pursue their own “American Dreams”?
I am totally applauding Sheryl Crow!
He did because the song is #1 on iTunes and most of his songs are in the top 20 now. He knew what he was doing,sadly. He is just like that Morgan Wallen guy.
It came on the radio when I was in Iowa just recently. I think it’s in heavy rotation on the country music stations–or at least it was prior to controversy.
My dad listens to our local country station here in CA, and apparently never heard it. It’s weird.
I wonder if it’s because of the market? Maybe this hateful shit is more appealing to the southern and midwestern markets than western markets? IDK but your dad is lucky as hell to have avoided it.
Never in my wildest dream would I have thought to see a term like “lynching song” existing.
I was once again too naive.
Also, I am not the stereotypical ‘American hater’, as I think lots of Americans are cool people that do a lot of cool stuff. Case in point: the people on this website.
Yet one thing I find incredibly annoying is that constant babbling about ‘faith’ and ‘Jesus’ when someone right wing (and sometimes others too) when they do gross things.
The constant refrains about guns and religion are deeply embedded in our American culture, especially our rural culture. I’m an American, and I don’t know how we can ever move past these tropes which continue to harm us as a society. Guns are literally everywhere in this country, enough guns for every man, woman, and child to have at least one. Yet, the right wing zealots insist we need even more. Thus, we have a staggering rate of gun violence and mass shootings. I love my country but truly fear for it.
It’s terrible but TBF, I have seen this country become more and more secular over the past 40 years–the religiosity that undergirds are culture has been steadily declining. And that’s why all the religious zealots are losing their goddamn minds–that’s why we see all the backlash and how the Right chooses their culture wars and wedge issues–it’s all to appeal to the fears of a declining demographic.
That stood out to me too. I want to know what part of that song talks about “faith, family, hard work, patriotism”??? Like for real how are they even justifying to themselves the song that says see how far you get down the road has anything to do with going to church or putting in a long day of work or anything to do with having a family. Wtf. The only way they can say that is bc they understand that the song means try espousing liberal views in a small town and they’ll f**k you up. But when anyone else understands the same thing they just pretend to be angry that we got it.
Agree completely. In my mind there are people who are religious with no fuss about it and there are people who want to be admired for being religious. A lot like millions of people who donate to charity and then the ones who donate and have to tell the world, so they get some sort of credit.
I didn’t have “lynching song becoming MAGA anthem” on my 2023 Bingo card, but I should have…this is truly the darkest timeline.
Seriously.
Good for Sheryl Crow and Shannon Watts. They both nailed it. Meanwhile, I’m sure Faux News is gearing up for the fight.
Shannon Watts continues to be a powerhouse for good.
I grew up in an actual small, rural, town. As long as you’re cis white straight, it’s lovely. Anyone else? Not so much.
Also, I saw Candice Owens wearing a Jason Alden shirt…it just makes me sad for her. The self hatred is so deep.
Well, you know, we haven’t heard from Candice Owens in a while so she had to get another 15 minutes of fame. She’s a piece of work that one.
This is everything that’s wrong with the world today. Disguting pos. Cancel him.
DIAF Mr. Aldean. I’m starting to get really, really sick of you assholes.
This is exactly the outcome he was hoping for.
For the record I have never heard of a Black person spitting in a cop’s face. But I have seen many belligerent and drunken White people go Reese Witherspoon on steroids on cops in a minute, over the most mundane things because they don’t want to follow the law, they think the rules don’t apply to them and only apply to POC. I am always shocked when they are not even arrested. I have seen some of them even put them hands on cops.
They got hell of nerve releasing this song after January 6th – where were the Blue Lives Matter chants then? Their silence was deafening.
I’m so sick of MAGA doing outrageous things and whining about woke culture canceling them when they are called out for their racist, outrageous things. They want to be oppressed so badly. They are always the victims of their own viciousness and violence.
The same people that swear being told to wear a mask during a frigging pandemic is oppressive are the same ones telling people to get over 300 years of slavery. Some of them even likened having to wear a mask to slavery – the lunacy is real. They are the biggest crybaby snowflakes. They couldn’t withstand for 5 seconds what Black people have had to endure in this country. I’m sick of their loudness, their entitlement, and their vicious, violent natures.
Watch this song go to number one now cause this is who we have become.
Thank you!
This song came out in May but just got popular now. Controversy sells. He got what he wanted. The bigger the backlash the bigger the profits. Gross.
I went into my Spotify and hit the ‘never play this artist’ button on Jason Aldean after reading this. I know it’s not revolutionary but it’s something.
Thanks for the tip! I just did it too. 💪
I had a song of his on one of my playlists from back in the oughts, went and deleted it.
Surprised they were able to tear themselves away from trashing the Barbie movie to defend Aldean.
Shannon Watts retweeted a TikTok of a woman analyzing the video frame by frame. Images that Aldean claims came from US news sources came from stock footage from European companies. One he claims is from a riot in the US is from a street festival in Berlin. People can be seen drinking beer when you zoom in on it
LOL sounds about right. Hell, they’ll probably play this video in FL and TX public schools as part of their push to rewrite/misrepresent/erase American history.
There is also apparently footage from Canada in the video; I refuse to watch anything by that human garbage fire so I can’t confirm it.
That’s correct. I saw the video last night and she is very thorough (and very good).
Those are just the first two scenes. She goes on to analyze another part and all of it is commercially available stock footage. Sloppy, sloppy. Lies, lies. Par for the course with these asshats.
Not to make light of this in any way, but typical GOP’er, he even has to outsource controversial images to make his video.
Dear Right Wing Idiots. Most liberals aren’t buying Jason Aldeen’s cheater/gun nut/ bigoted music to begin with. If CMT doesn’t want to air a lynching song that speaks highly of them, but I canceled this gross individual when he cheated on his wife so blatantly and again with the stupid anti-vax stuff. To be fair, his music is t really my thing either. When I listen to country music I listen to Garth Brooks (Budweiser forever), or out Queen and savior Dolly Parton. You know actual country music.
The government forcing a private entity to reverse a decision about what kind of messaging they put out? Hmmm, I’m thinking there’s an amendment that bars that lol.
And the GOP is the “small government, more unregulated capitalism” party, right?
I mean aside from the whole “government small enough to fit in every woman’s uterus” part
These f in people are despicable
The garbage that these people will bend over backwards to defend. Sad.
I was reading yesterday about 17 people, mostly women facing federal charges for falsifying vote counts. These 17 announced Trump won in their area even though they knew Biden had won. They broke the law and now they are going to go to prison for a man who doesn’t even know they exist or would care anything about them if he did. These are the type of people who would celebrate this musical garbage.
Counting down to wifey selling t-shirts spewing more of this stuff. Full of hate and Botox.
Absolutely! Wifey will NOT miss a grift you almost have to admire her hussle..almost but not quite
That woman will rep anything. Or at least she used. They have so much money, but almost every other instagram was her selling something.
Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot.
How can ANYONE justify a video that glorifies lynching? This is disgusting.
Some people in the US treated lynchings as opportunities for picnics, social gatherings, and commemorative postcards. A few generations later, not that much has changed.
Cue Marjorie Traitor Greene flapping her gums defending Aldean’s “Conservative Rights” and “Christian values” while showing Hunter Biden d*ck pics to the world.
Has anyone read that Hunger can sue her for ‘revenge porn’. I think it’s perfect.
Yup, it is perfect – she stupidly included the photos in her email newsletter which may have gone to minors. There’s no age restriction on her mailing list. I hope they throw all the books at her.
Deeply saddening and truly terrifying
Trash, trash, trash.
He cannot deny vigilantism. For talking back to a cop or burning the flag. Both legal activities, not activities I would normally support but I support they are both free speech.
For this unmitigated trash to come from a singer when 59 people were killed & 700 were injured by a gunman at their concert is beyond the pale. Truly astounding. That ANYONE would defend this trash (both the sone & Jason) is simply stunning.
What does Aldean know about living in a small town? He grew up in Macon, Georgia (population 150,000+) and now lives in Nashville. It’s like Kid Rock who grew up in the suburbs of Michigan.
Both have used stereotypes in order to pander to audiences who wouldn’t give them the time of day if not for their mutual racism and misogyny.
I’m confused, wasn’t Beer for my Horses (2003) already a song about this?
I wonder if Mr. Ramaswamy realizes that he would be a target for most of these people…………
I like country music , there’s some country artists I really enjoy listening to like Keith Urban, Thomas Rhett, Dan and Shay, Darius Rucker, Walker Hayes, the Judds, Blake Shelton. But Never liked Jason Aldean or his home wrecker wife. I’m glad that one of our local country stations here hasn’t been playing his music.