Country Music Television (CMT) has been labeled the new Bud Light after it removed a controversial music video by Jason Aldean.
There has been a national boycott of the beer brand since April when it was accused of going woke for partnering with transgender influencer, Dylan Mulvaney.
Now, some social media users have accused CMT of following in Bud Light’s footsteps after it pulled Aldean’s music video for the song, “Try That in a Small Town.” The network confirmed it removed the video on Tuesday.The song has attracted criticism for its “very scary lyrics” and also for the video, that was filmed outside a Tennessee courthouse where a mob killed a Black man in 1927.
Aldean sings about a gun his grandfather gave him, adding that he doesn’t want to give it up, “they say one day they’re gonna round up/Well, that s*** might fly in the city, good luck.”
The song tells a story of the difference between city life and living in a small town, specifically, if someone there “cross[es] that line,” to “cuss out a cop, spit in his face” or “stomp on the flag and light it up,” to “try that in a small town.”
The lyrics continue: “See how far ya make it down the road/Around here, we take care of our own/You cross that line, it won’t take long/ For you to find out, I recommend you don’t/Try that in a small town.”Following the outrage over the song’s lyrics and video, Aldean took to social media to deny his music was racist or a call to incite violence.
“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,” he 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 added: “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.”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. 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.””CMT just pulled a Bud Light,” commented one person on Twitter.
Another added: “I stand with Jason Aldean.”
And a third wrote: “CMT just canceled Jason Aldean’s music video of “Try that in a small town”. It was a video about “the summer of love”. Now it’s time to cancel CMT just like we did Bud Light. Speak up and lets make this happen!!”
But others supported CMT’s decision.”Country music television (@CMT) wasn’t buying@Jason_Aldean’s comments regarding his lynching anthem. They pulled the video. This ain’t fun and games or giggles when Black lives are at stake. Dog whistles and calls to arms for white supremacist terrorism can’t be condoned,” wrote one person.
Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand, a non-profit aimed at reducing gun violence in America tweeted: “Proud to have had a hand in getting CMT to reject this racist and violent song…”
In a behind-the-scenes video for the song, Aldean confirmed it was shot outside the Maury County Courthouse where 18-year-old Henry Choate was lynched in 1927 after being accused of assaulting a 16-year-old white girl in Tennessee.
Choate denied the attack but was set upon by a white mob and hanged from the second floor of the courthouse, where he died from his injuries.
The Nashville Tennessean newspaper published a story about his death on November 12, 1927, writing that a Black man was “lynched” in Columbia, Tennessee for an “attack on girl.”
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