CMT has pulled from their programming Jason Aldean’s music video “Try That in a Small Town,” Deadline has learned.
The song was released May 18 of this year with the music video to accompany it dropping on July 14. The lyrics have been controversial as many have interpreted them as being pro-lynching, something that Aldean denied in a statement he shared on Twitter after learning his video was yanked from the country music cable channel.
“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,” Aldean tweeted. “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 is seen performing in the music video in front of a courthouse that was a site of a famous lynching as images are projected onto the facade of the building.
“As so many pointed out, I was present at Route 91-where so many lost their lives- and our community recently suffered another heartbreaking tragedy,” he added. “NO ONE, including me, wants to continue to see senseless headlines or families ripped apart.”
“Try That in a Small Town” has lyrics that include, “Cuss out a cop, spit in his face, stomp on the flag and light it up, yeah, ya think you’re tough, well, try that in a small town, see how far ya make it down the road.” In another part of the song, Aldean sings, “got a gun that my granddad gave me, they say one day they’re gonna round up, well, that shit might fly in the city, good luck.”
Aldean said that the song “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.”
He continued, “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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