Country music artist Jason Aldean vehemently denied allegations that his hit song “Try That In A Small Town” and its music video contain racist, pro-lynching messaging.
Aldean posted a lengthy statement to his Instagram story on Tuesday, telling fans that despite his disagreements with the Black Lives Matter movement, he was not calling for the extrajudicial killing of black people.
“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 wrote. “These references are not only meritless, but dangerous.”
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“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 wrote.
The music video contains multiple clips of protesters clashing with police as well as security camera footage of a carjacking and an armed robbery. The lyrics warn people who would “cuss out a cop” and “spit in his face” or “stomp on the flag and light it up” to “try that in a small town” and “see how far you make it down the road.”
“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. NO ONE, including me, wants to continue to see senseless headlines or families ripped apart,” he continued, recalling the 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas. His reference to “another heartbreaking tragedy” appears to allude to the March shooting that killed three children and three adults at a Christian school in Nashville, where Aldean resides.
The country star then went on to explain what his song represents.
“‘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,” he wrote. “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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Social media comments suggest it was more so the location he chose to film his video, in relation to the context of the song, that ruffled feathers.(RELATED: Coretta Scott King’s Cousin Joins Masses Of People Who Are Outraged By $10 Million MLK Statue)
Aldean filmed the video in front of the Maury County Courthouse in Columbia, Tennessee, where 18-year-old African-American Henry Choate was lynched in 1927 after being accused of attacking a white girl, according to TMZ.
Aldean’s statement came one day after CMT pulled his music video from rotation.
