I got Jason Aldean’s ‘Small Town’ canceled by CMT: gun-control activist
A prominent gun-control activist is taking credit for getting Jason Aldean’s controversial song pulled from Country Music Television for being “racist and violent.”
Aldean, 46, has been accused of promoting violence with his latest song “Try That in a Small Town,” which includes the inflammatory lyrics: “Got a gun that my granddad gave me / They say one day they’re gonna round up / Well, that s–t might fly in the city, good luck / Try that in a small town.”
Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action, brought attention to the lyrics in a tweet posted Sunday night, in which she said the song is “about how [Aldean] and his friends will shoot you if you try to take their guns.”
Watts also pointed out that Aldean “was on-stage during the mass shooting at a Las Vegas concert in 2017 that killed 60 people and wounded over 400 more.”
The music video for “Try That in a Small Town” — which sees Aldean performing in front of a courthouse known for lynchings — was pulled from CMT programming following the backlash.
The video was released on Friday, July 14, and played on CMT through the morning music video hours on Sunday, July 16, according to Billboard.
While Watts’ tweet came later that same Sunday, the news of the removal broke on Tuesday, and upon hearing about it, she tweeted: “Proud to have had a hand in getting CMT to reject this racist and violent song.”
Despite the video being pulled from CMT, ABC still decided to air a pre-taped performance of Aldean’s song as part of its CMA Fest concert special Wednesday. However, ABC did not air footage of the music video during the special.
Aldean performed the song on June 10 at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium in honor of the Country Music Association’s 50th anniversary.
Meanwhile, the mayor of the “small town” where Aldean’s music video was filmed, additionally responded to the controversy, saying that he hopes the next video the singer films in Columbia, Tennessee, will “highlight peace.”
“Like many small towns across America, Columbia, Tennessee, is focused on bringing people together,” Mayor Chaz Molder told local news station Fox 17. “I hadn’t listened to the song prior to today, but I’ve now seen the video.
“I respect the artist’s freedom of his own lyrics and the fans who support him, but I’m hopeful that the next music video that uses our historic downtown as a backdrop will seek a more positive message.”
Sheryl Crow also recently joined in on the discourse about the song, saying Aldean should know better.
As a small-town girl herself, Missouri native Crow, 61, called out the country singer for putting out false impressions.
“@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,” she tweeted.
“This is not American or small town-like. It’s just lame.”
Aldean sings in the first verse: “Sucker punch somebody on a sidewalk / Carjack an old lady at a red light / Pull a gun on the owner of a liquor store / Ya think it’s cool, well, act a fool if ya like.”
He continues: “Cuss out a cop, spit in his face / Stomp on the flag and light it up / Yeah, ya think you’re tough.”
The “Dirt Road Anthem” singer defended himself against the accusations, writing in a statement posted to Twitter, “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 (direct quote) 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,” he continued.
The music video features footage from protests, including BLM protests, and shows Aldean standing in front of an American flag draped over the Maury County Courthouse in Columbia, Tennessee — which is where the 1946 Columbia race riot occurred.
The riot almost led to the lynching of Thurgood Marshall, the first black Supreme Court justice, and the city was also the site of the lynching of 18-year-old Henry Choate in 1927.
In his statement, Aldean added, “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.”
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