The cancel culture brigade is marching again, this time with their sights set on country music icon Jason Aldean. Following a relentless outcry from the left-leaning folks and self-professed liberals, Country Music Television (CMT) has decided to stop airing Aldean’s music video for the song “Try That In A Small Town”.
Jason Aldean writes a song defending the values that ALL Americans used to share – faith, family, hard work, patriotism – only to be immediately sacrificed at the altar of censorship & cancellation. These are the same people who cheer songs like “Cop Killer” & the glorification… pic.twitter.com/WJ5s3MOI4p
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) July 19, 2023
The detractors argue that the video advocates racism and glorifies gun violence as it includes news footage of city protests, riots, and clashes with police, including some scenes from Black Lives Matter rallies. The video also features clips from attempted convenience store robberies and other apparent crimes, juxtaposed with the tranquil scenes of small-town life towards the end.
A portion of the cancel culture mob went so far as to accuse Aldean of endorsing lynching, just because the video was shot near Maury County Courthouse, a historic site linked with a lynching incident in 1927. Nevermind the fact that the music video’s producer, TackleBox, clarified that the filming location was chosen for its popularity and has been used in other productions like Disney’s “Hannah Montana: The Movie”. And, of course, the artist himself didn’t pick the location.
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
The potential 2024 Republican presidential candidate, Vivek Ramaswamy, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, another hopeful for the Republican ticket, both took to Twitter to voice their support for Aldean. They encouraged him to stand firm against these “hypocrites” and reassured him that being targeted by the media is a sure sign of doing something right.
In response to the controversy, Aldean took a stand for his song and its accompanying video. For him, the song resonates with the sense of community that was an integral part of his upbringing where neighbors took care of each other, regardless of their backgrounds or beliefs.
Aldean’s song, which was released in May and its video only recently uploaded to YouTube, has also been subject to criticism for its lyrics, which promote a code of conduct prevalent in small towns, something that the left brigade seems incapable of understanding.
Ironically, while these so-called “cancellers” are quick to condemn, they have yet to introspect. As Ramaswamy pointed out, these are the same individuals who cheer songs like “Cop Killer” and endorse the portrayal of sex and violence in hip-hop music.
Despite the controversy, the song continues to gain traction on platforms such as YouTube and Spotify, with over four million views on each. It was also ranked as the No. 15 most-played U.S. song on Apple Music as of Thursday morning, proving once again that cancel culture can’t mute the voice of the heartland.
