Jason Aldean defends himself over backlash to controversial tune: ‘Goes too far’

Jason Aldean defended himself Tuesday after CMT pulled the controversial music video for his tune “Strive That in a Small City” from its rotation amid accusations it’s pro-lynching and racist.

“Previously 24 hours I’ve been accused of releasing a pro-lynching tune (a tune that has been out since Might) and was topic to the comparability that I (direct quote) was not too happy with the nationwide BLM protests,” Aldean, 46, wrote in a press release posted to his Instagram Story.

“These references will not be solely meritless, however harmful.”

Within the first verse, Aldean sings: “Sucker punch someone on a sidewalk / Carjack an outdated woman at a pink gentle / Pull a gun on the proprietor of a liquor retailer / Ya suppose it’s cool, properly, act a idiot if ya like.”

He continues: “Cuss out a cop, spit in his face / Stomp on the flag and light-weight it up / Yeah, ya suppose you’re robust.”

Then comes the refrain.

“Properly, strive that in a small city / See how far ya make it down the highway / Round right here, we handle our personal / You cross that line, it received’t take lengthy / So that you can discover out, I like to recommend you don’t,” Aldean warns.

Within the second verse, Aldean claims he’s outfitted with a gun from his grandfather.

“Bought a gun that my grandad gave me / They are saying at some point they’re gonna spherical up / Properly, that s–t could fly within the metropolis, good luck,” he advises, although it’s unclear who “they” refers to.

The music video, which was launched Friday, options footage from protests, together with BLM protests.

Aldean stands in entrance of an American flag draped over the Maury County Courthouse in Columbia, Tennessee, which is the place the 1946 Columbia race riot unfolded.

The battle nearly led to the lynching of Thurgood Marshall, the primary black Supreme Courtroom justice.

The town was additionally the backdrop for the lynching of 18-year-old Henry Choate in 1927.

Variety called Aldean’s tune “probably the most contemptible nation tune of the last decade,” whereas social media customers lambasted him as “a racist who writes barely hid lynching songs” and a “violent bigot.”

The Submit has contacted reps for Aldean and CMT for remark.

Elsewhere within the tune, the singer croons: “Full of fine ol’ boys, raised up proper / When you’re on the lookout for a struggle / Strive that in a small city.”

“There’s not a single lyric within the tune that references race or factors to it — and there isn’t a single clip that isn’t actual information footage — and whereas I can try to respect others to have their very own interpretation of a tune with music — this one goes too far,” Aldean continued on Instagram, referencing the 2017 Las Vegas competition mass capturing and, seemingly, the Covenant Faculty capturing in Nashville.

“‘Strive That In A Small City,’ for me, refers back to the feeling of a neighborhood that I had rising up, the place we took care of our neighbors, no matter variations of background or perception. As a result of they had been our neighbors, and that was above any variations,” Aldean defined.

“My political views have by no means been one thing I’ve hidden from. And I do know that a number of us on this nation don’t agree on how we get again to a way of normalcy, the place we go a minimum of a day with no headline that retains us up at evening, however the want for it to — that’s what the tune is about,” the outspoken conservative concluded.

Aldean — who lately suffered warmth stroke onstage in Connecticut — and his spouse, Brittany, 35, aren’t any strangers to controversy.

Final yr, Aldean was dropped by his p.r. firm of 17 years following Brittany’s transphobic remarks on-line.

The incident launched the couple into a feud with fellow nation star Maren Morris, 33.

The pair additionally spent New Yr’s Eve at Mar-a-Lago, the place Brittany acquired a kiss on the forehead from former President Donald Trump, 77.