Just days after cutting his concert short due to exhaustion and dehydration, Jason Aldean is under fire for his new song.
Titled "Try That in a Small Town," Aldean says the song was written with the message that “we all have each other’s backs and we look out for each other.”
On his social media channels he added, "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. Go check it out!”
While it takes the perspective of a patriotic American, the song is gaining attention for what some feel is a pro-gun and even racist narrative. Not helping the cause is its accompanying music video, which features Aldean performing in front of a giant American flag, alongside clips of protests, looting and all out riots.
One Twitter account noted that Aldean shot the video at "the site where a white lynch mob strung Henry Choate up at the Maury County Courthouse in Columbia, Tenn., after dragging his body through the streets with a car in 1927." Adding, "That's where Aldean chose to sing about murdering people who don't respect police."
Another post was quick to point out that it was Aldean who was on stage in Las Vegas for the Route 91 Harvest Festival in 2017 when a mass shooting occurred, killing 60 people and injuring another 400 more.
In response, CMT has reportedly pulled the video for "Try That in a Small Town" from rotation, despite playing it throughout this past weekend.
Update: Aldean has responded on Twitter, defending his song and also rejecting any accusations that it has racist tendencies.
"These references are not only meritless, but dangerous," he writes. "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.