Country Music Television Trashes Jason Aldean’s Alleged ‘Pro-Lynching’ Music Video

Country music star Jason Aldean is in hot water for his new music video, and Country Music Television (CMT) is not standing for it.

CMT has pulled Aldean’s tone-deaf video for his single “Try That in a Small Town” after critics accused him of being “pro-lynching,” NBC News reported. The video was released on Jul. 14 and was in rotation through Jul. 16. With over 1 million views on YouTube, the video features the country singer in front of the Maury County Courthouse in Columbia, TN – where, in 1927, Henry Choate, an 18-year-old Black man, was lynched by a white mob.

Quickly, the content shifts to images of protests, flags burning, and the robbing of a convenience store. During the second verse of the song, Aldean, a mass shooting survivor, references being pro-gun with the lyrics, “Got a gun that my granddad gave me/ They say one day they’re gonna round up/ Well, that sh-t might fly in the city/ Good luck.”

As the controversy grew, Aldean took to social media with a lengthy post defending both the song and video. “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. He went on to say that he respects others’ interpretations, but feels the accusations have gone too far. “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.”

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.…

— Jason Aldean (@Jason_Aldean) July 18, 2023

Fellow country stars like, Sheryl Crow, are dragging Aldean’s song, calling it “lame” on Twitter. “@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,” Crow wrote. “You should know that better than anyone having survived a mass shooting.”