Accusations of Aldean’s video being racist led to Country Music Television (CMT) pulling it from rotation.
Republicans are coming to the defense of country music singer Jason Aldean following pushback for his new song that critics claim promotes gun violence and for its music video that was filmed at the site of a lynching.
The song, «Try That in a Small Town,» drew little negative reaction when it was first released in May, but that changed with the July 14 release of the song’s music video, which resulted in a debate about the song’s lyrics and imagery.
In a Twitter post announcing the video, Aldean wrote: «When u grow up in a small town, it’s that unspoken rule of ‘we all have each other’s backs and we look out for each other.’ It feels like somewhere along the way, that sense of community and respect has gotten lost. Deep down we are all ready to get back to that. I hope my new music video helps y’all know that u are not alone in feeling that way.»
Country Music Television (CMT) pulled the video from its rotation after accusations that the music video was «racist,» causing backlash from conservatives who defended Aldean as being a victim of—as Republican 2024 presidential candidate Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said—»cancel culture.» However, the song catapulted to number one on the U.S. iTunes chart as well as to the top of YouTube’s trending music videos category.
Representative Mike Waltz, a Florida Republican, came to the singer’s defense on Twitter on Sunday re-tweeting a video of Aldean addressing the controversy. «I stand with @Jason_Aldean and the majority of Americans who say enough is enough with cancel culture.
