Everything to Know About Jason Aldean's 'Try That in a Small Town' Music Video Controversy

The music video for Jason Aldean's new single “Try That in a Small Town" debuted to mixed reactions.

Originally released in May, the song serves as the lead single to Aldean's upcoming eleventh studio album. Aldean, who did not write the track, has been the center of controversy in recent weeks as many fans have accused him of encouraging violence and racism with the song's lyrics.

“Got a gun that my granddad gave me / They say one day they’re gonna round up / Well, that s--- might fly in the city, good luck," he sings. "Try that in a small town / 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 ... Full of good ol' boys, raised up right / If you're looking for a fight / Try that in a small town."

The song sparked controversy yet again when the music video was released in July, as social media users pointed out the contentious imagery throughout. 

Here’s everything to know about the controversy surrounding the song and its music video. 

When did the Jason Aldean “Try That in a Small Town” controversy begin?

Though the song was released on May 22, it become the subject of controversy and media attention when its music video was released on July 14. 

Directed by Shaun Silva, the music video featured a performance in front of the Maury County Courthouse in Columbia, Tennessee, where the 1927 lynching of Henry Choate took place. Choate was an 18-year-old Black man accused of attacking a white woman. The video also included visuals of vandalism and riots that appear to take place during the 2020 racial injustice protests (but, as some on TikTok have pointed out, some clips are taken from stock footage or from protests in other countries).

The location is a popular filming location outside of Nashville, per Tacklebox, the music video's production company. They also cited several music videos and films that have been filmed there, including most recently the Lifetime Original movie Steppin’ into the Holiday with Mario Lopez and Jana Kramer, Runaway June's “We Were Rich” music video, a Paramount holiday film A Nashville Country Christmas with Tanya Tucker – as well the Hannah Montana film. 

In a statement to PEOPLE, TackleBox confirmed Aldean did not pick the video location and refuted speculation about its history of lynching being tied to the video's filming.

On July 25, The Washington Post reported that the music video was altered to remove a Fox 5 Atlanta clip that featured violent confrontations that occurred during the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests.

What has Jason Aldean said about the “Try That in a Small Town” backlash? 

Days after releasing the song's music video, Aldean shared a lengthy statement on social media where he explained what the song meant to him and why he finds the accusations "dangerous."

"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 on Twitter.

"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," he continued.

Aldean also noted that he was performing at a Las Vegas music festival in 2017 when a gunman opened fire, killing 61 people and wounding nearly 900 : "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."

He noted that the song is about "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," he concluded.

He opened up about the controversy again during his concert at Cincinnati’s Riverbend Music Center, complaining about "cancel culture" and stating he wanted the U.S. to be "restored to what it once was, before all this bulls--- started happening to us."

When did CMT pull Jason Aldean’s “Try That in a Small Town” music video?

On July 18, just days after the music video’s release, CMT confirmed to multiple outlets that it had pulled the music video from the network. Billboard reported that the video “was in rotation on CMT through July 16, playing in the morning music video hours” however “it is unclear how many times CMT played the video before pulling it on July 17."

Though the video was pulled from CMT, it has over 18M views on YouTube as of July 25. The song also hit No. 1 on the Hot Country Songs chart and No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. The track had the largest week of sales for a country song in more than 10 years, according to Billboard.

Have celebrities reacted to the Jason Aldean “Try That in a Small Town” controversy?

The song has been divisive among the country music community as well. Notably, Sheryl Crow voiced her disdain for the track in a candid Twitter post. 

“@Jason_Aldean I’m from a small town. Even people in small towns are sick of violence,” Crow wrote. “There’s nothing small-town or American about promoting violence," she added. "You should know that better than anyone having survived a mass shooting. This is not American or small town-like. It’s just lame.” 

The "All I Wanna Do" singer has been a vocal advocate for stricter gun control measures and in March performed at a vigil for victims of the mass shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville, where three staff members and three students were killed.

Meanwhile, other celebrities close to Aldean have voiced their support for the singer. His wife Brittany Kerr Aldean seemingly came to his defense on social media, writing, "Never apologize for speaking the truth❣️🇺🇸," alongside a selfie of the two.

Blanco Brown also shared his thoughts on the song, defending Aldean’s character in a since-deleted tweet. "Aldeans Stream Are Gonna Go Through The Roof… I hate the words to that song but I don’t believe he’s a racist, one of the first to check on me in my time of need," the "High Horse" singer wrote on Twitter, referring to his near-fatal motorcycle accident in 2020.

"Just bad song writing," added Brown, who is also signed to BBR, the same record label group as Aldean. 

Have other celebrities pulled their music videos from CMT in support of Jason Aldean? 

Following the news that Aldean’s music video was pulled from CMT, reports surfaced that other country artists, such as Luke Bryan, Blake Shelton and Hank Williams Jr., were boycotting CMT by pulling their own music videos from the network. 

However, a representative for CMT confirmed to Billboard that Bryan has not requested his videos be pulled from the channel and nor has any other artist.