Jason Aldean is tackling his latest controversy with his wife, Brittany, by his side.
Aldean’s new single, “Try That in a Small Town,” has sparked backlash for its perceived racist content and had its music video pulled from Country Music Television (CMT).
“Try That in a Small Town” was released in May, and the lyrics speak to small towns not putting up with riots and lawlessness many cities faced in the summer of 2020.
Some of the lyrics in the song included in Aldean’s forthcoming, as-yet-untitled album include, “Got a gun that my granddad gave me, They say one day they’re gonna round up, Well, that s–t might fly in the city, good luck, Try that in a small town, See how far ya make it down the road, You cross that line, it won’t take long, For you to find out, I recommend you don’t, Try that in a small town.”
Scenes from the music video were shot outside the Maury County Courthouse in Columbia, Tennessee, where an 18-year-old Black man named Henry Choate was lynched in 1927. The courthouse was also a pivotal site during the Columbia race riot in 1946.
The video also includes footage of protesters vandalizing cities, flipping off police officers and burning flags, assumed to be from the wave of police brutality riots during the height of the pandemic in 2020.
CMT confirmed to Fox News Digital on Tuesday that the clip was pulled from its rotation but did not provide more context for the decision.
On Wednesday, the production company for the music video, TackleBox, confirmed the music video was shot at Maury County Courthouse, adding that it is a “popular filming location outside of Nashville.” Several music videos and movies have filmed there, including the Lifetime Original movie “Steppin’ into the Holiday” with Mario Lopez and Jana Kramer. TackleBox also noted that the location was featured in a Runaway June music video for their 2019 song “We Were Rich,” the 2022 Paramount holiday film “A Nashville Country ” with Tanya Tucker, and Miley Cyrus’ 2009 film “Hannah Montana: The Movie.”