Jason Aldean performs through the 2023 CMA Fest on Saturday, June 10, 2023, at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn. CMT will now not air Aldean’s music video “Attempt That in a Small City” after it sparked controversy. Amy Harris, Invision, Related Press
Nation Music Tv will no lengthy air nation star Jason Aldean’s music video “Attempt That in a Small City” after it sparked controversy following its launch on Friday, experiences USA At this time.
The TV community pulled the music video after it stirred up backlash from critics who declare “the music strikes a threatening tone whereas criticizing gun management and protests in opposition to police,” per Axios. The three-minute video splices Aldean’s efficiency with movies of riots, flag burning, protests and crime.
“Sucker punch someone on a sidewalk. Carjack an previous woman at a purple gentle. Pull a gun on the proprietor of a liquor retailer. Ya assume it’s cool, effectively, act a idiot if ya like,” Aldean sings in “Attempt That in a Small City.”
“Acquired a gun that my granddad gave me. They are saying at some point they’re gonna spherical up. Properly, that (expletive) may fly within the metropolis, good luck,” Aldean continues in his single.
Some viewers observed that scenes from the music video have been filmed on the Maury County Courthouse in Columbia, Tennessee, a website the place a Black man named Henry Choate was lynched in 1927, in response to USA At this time.
Aldean, who survived a mass capturing whereas performing in Las Vegas in 2017 (per Leisure Tonight), defended the music on Twitter on Tuesday, claiming he was unfairly accused “of releasing a pro-lynching music” that was important of the Black Lives Matter motion.
“There's not a single lyric within the music that references race or factors to it- and there isn’t a single video clip that isn’t actual information footage -and whereas I can try to respect others to have their very own interpretation of a music with music- this one goes too far,” Aldean wrote on Twitter.
“‘Attempt That In A Small City,’ for me, refers back to the feeling of a group that I had rising up, the place we took care of our neighbors, no matter variations of background or perception,” the singer continued.
Up to now 24 hours I've been accused of releasing a pro-lynching music (a music that has been out since Could) and was topic to the comparability that I (direct quote) was not too happy with the nationwide BLM protests. These references should not solely meritless, however harmful.…
— Jason Aldean (@Jason_Aldean) July 18, 2023
What critics are saying about Aldean’s ‘Attempt That in a Small City’
American musician Sheryl Crow took to Twitter on Tuesday to slam Aldean’s music video for “selling violence.”
“I’m from a small city. Even folks in small cities are sick of violence,” Crow tweeted. “There’s nothing small-town or American about selling violence. It is best to know that higher than anybody having survived a mass capturing.”
Shannon Watts, founding father of gun violence advocacy group Mothers Demand Motion, claimed the music “is an ode to a sunset city, suggesting folks be overwhelmed or shot for expressing free speech.”
“It additionally insinuates that weapons are being confiscated, the penalty for which is seemingly dying,” Watts continued in a Twitter publish.
Tennessee state Rep. Justin Jones added to the dialog on Twitter, writing: “As Tennessee lawmakers, we have now an obligation to sentence Jason Aldean’s heinous music calling for racist violence. What a shameful imaginative and prescient of gun extremism and vigilantism. We are going to proceed to name for frequent sense gun legal guidelines, that shield ALL our kids and communities.”