(HorizonPost.com) – The controversy surrounding the video of country singer Jason Aldean’s song “Try That in a Small Town” appears to have backfired on the anti-gun activists who campaigned to have it removed from CMT’s rotation. Last week, the song shot up to Number One on iTunes, The Daily Wire reported.
Released in May, the song was described by Aldean at the time as summarizing how many people “feel about the world right now,” by criticizing the violent behavior of rioters in large cities and warning them to “try that in a small town.”
Last weekend, after the video was released on CMT and put into the network’s rotation, some gun control activists demanded that the network stop airing it. Faced with an organized backlash from people who probably don’t watch the network, CMT caved to the mob and yanked the video.
In response, Aldean released a statement on Twitter responding to the more outlandish accusation made against the song, namely that the song is “pro-lynching.”
Aldean called the claim “meritless” and “dangerous,” and pointed out that the lyrics to “Try That in a Small Town” make no mention of race nor is there any footage in the video that isn’t “real news footage.”
He said while he tries to respect that others might have different interpretations of the lyrics, the accusation that it is pro-lynching “goes too far.”
Aldean also pointed out that he was in attendance when a mass shooter targeted the country music festival in Las Vegas in 2017 and added that nobody, including him, wants to see headlines about mass shootings or “families ripped apart.”
He argued that his song is about the community where he grew up “where we took care of our neighbors” regardless of their differences.
After Aldean responded to the controversy, “Try That in a Small Town” reached number one on the Apple iTunes all-genre chart. It also hit number one on the iTunes Country Top 40 chart, according to Billboard.
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