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CMT Pulls Controversial Jason Aldean Music Video

JUL 19 2023·Updated AUG 27

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Image credit: Wikimedia Commons

The Facts

On Tuesday, Country Music Television (CMT) removed the music video for singer Jason Aldean's song "Try That in a Small Town," which covers the topic of alleged lawlessness in the US.
New York Daily News
According to Billboard, the video includes interspersed footage of "flag burning," along with demonstrators "screaming and attacking police in various scenarios, and robbing a convenience store." It juxtaposes the footage with scenes including a girl playing hopscotch and a raised American flag.
Breitbart
Though the network didn't provide a reason for pulling the video, critics claim it was filmed in front of a courthouse that was the site of a notorious lynching in 1927.
ABC News
While Tennessee State Rep. Justin Jones accused Aldean of "calling for racist violence," the musician defended the video on Twitter saying: "There isn't a single video clip that isn't real news footage."
CNN
He added that "not a single lyric...references race or points to it," and argued that it instead "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."
Forbes
A day before it was removed, Country Aircheck's add chart showed the song had been listed at 125 stations — the record number is 156, indicating the track's popularity at the time it was pulled.
NBC

Sources Split

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RIGHT

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CRIT

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PRO
ESTAB

The Spin

Left narrative

If setting the image of a courthouse where a Black man was hanged by a White lynch mob against footage from Black Lives Matter protests isn't racist, what is? Jason Aldean was appealing to the rage of conservative White Americans, and doing so successfully based on the track's popularity. Protesting police brutality does not constitute violence, but his insinuations may very well incite racial hatred and violence against Black people.

The Root

Right narrative

The left will blow anything out of proportion if it helps them rid American society of pro-gun or anti-urban sentiments. Jason Aldean didn't choose the Maury County courthouse because it was the site of a lynching, but probably because it's a short drive from Nashville and provided an excellent small-town aesthetic for his video. This is far from the first country song to condemn urban violence, but that clearly doesn't matter to those who want to crush this traditional part of American culture.

The Federalist