Jason Aldean Under Fire for Shooting Music Video at 1927 Lynching Site
Country music singer Jason Aldean is under fire for filming a music video with lyrics about vigilantism at a 1927 lynching site, RadarOnline.com has learned.
The Dirt Road Anthem crooner dropped his 3-minute visual art for his new single, Try That In A Small Town, which is about gun ownership and how locals have less tolerance than people in large cities when it comes to disrespecting the police.
"Cuss out a cop, spit in his face / Stomp on the flag and light it up / Yeah, ya think you're tough / Well, try that in a small town / See how far ya make it down the road / Around here, we take care of our own," Aldean belts out.
In the video is footage of protesters going up against police, looters stealing, and rioters bashing a cop car. Meanwhile, Aldean could be seen singing outside of a courthouse with a U.S. flag draping down the front.
"Jason Aldean shot this at the site where a white lynch mob strung Henry Choate up at the Maury County Courthouse in Columbia, Tenn., after dragging his body through the streets with a car in 1927," one social media user posted on Monday. "That's where Aldean chose to sing about murdering people who don't respect police."
The backdrop stirred up controversy as Choate was a young 18-year-old Black man. "Reports suggest he was beaten horrifically before white supremacists murdered him in an act of terror. In Jason Aldean's video, an American flag hangs where Henry was murdered as Aldean sings 'I recommend you don't try that in a small town.' Sickening," another Twitter user echoed.
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Activist Shannon Watts also spoke out against the single which she deemed was about "how he and his friends will shoot you if you try to take their guns" in a viral tweet, calling it "gross."
She brought up the 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas, where Aldean was on stage performing at the Route 91 Harvest Festival when 60 people were killed by a gunman concealed in his 32nd-floor suites in the Mandalay Bay.
Although many critics have come out of the woodwork, several supporters flooded the comments section of his video to rally in his corner. "Great song. Love the lyrics," one wrote. "Never apologize for what you believe."
RadarOnline.com has reached out to reps for Aldean for comment on the backlash surrounding the subject matter and music video 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," Aldean wrote via Twitter this afternoon.
"These references are not only meritless, but dangerous," he continued. "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."
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The Tonight Looks Good on You hitmaker, who is married to wife Brittany Aldean, previously released a statement about what inspired the track, explaining, "When u grow up in a small town, it's that unspoken rule of 'we all have each other's backs and we look out for each other.'"
"It feels like somewhere along the way, that sense of community and respect has gotten lost," he went on. "Deep down we are all ready to get back to that. I hope my new music video helps y'all know that u are not alone in feeling that way."