As Jason Aldean‘s “Try That in a Small Town” continues to rise on the charts — and spark backlash — its controversial music video was subtly altered.
The Washington Post reported on Tuesday, July 25, that the music video is now six seconds shorter than when it was originally uploaded on July 14. News footage from Fox 5 Atlanta depicting Black Lives Matter demonstrations and protests in 2020 has seemingly been removed from the initial video.
The clips appeared twice in the original version of the video. At one point, the footage was projected outside of a courthouse in Tennessee — allegedly the site of a Black teen’s lynching in the 1920s. (The video’s production company, TackleBox, previously denied speculation about the building’s history and asserted that Aldean did not select the location himself.)
Additional changes were made to the end of the video, per the Post. The new version no longer includes an older man discussing small-town life or footage of a man in a baseball cap, both of which appeared in the final 30 seconds.
Aldean, 46, defended his song and its content earlier this month after questions arose online about the lyrics. “Cuss out a cop, spit in his face / Stomp on the flag and light it up / Yeah, ya think you’re tough,” Aldean sings. “Well, try that in a small town / See how far ya make it down the road / Around here, we take care of our own.”
The song was initially released in May, but controversy arose after the video’s debut. Some fans were surprised by the song’s pro-gun theme due to Aldean’s experience in a 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas.
As the debate continued, Aldean addressed critics via Twitter. “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. These references are not only meritless, but dangerous,” he wrote on July 18, denying that the song promotes racist ideology.
He added: “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.”
While fellow musicians Sheryl Crow, Cassadee Pope and Jason Isbell called out Aldean’s writing, his wife, Brittany Aldean, stood by his side. “Never apologize for speaking the truth
,” she captioned an Instagram post.
During a concert in Ohio on Friday, July 21, Jason doubled down on his defense of his music. “It’s been a long-ass week and I’ve seen a lot of stuff suggesting I’m this, suggesting I’m that,” he said on stage. “I feel, like, everybody’s entitled to their opinions. You can think something all you want to but doesn’t mean it’s true.”
The crowd broke out into chants of “USA” as he continued: “What I am is a proud American [and] I’m proud to be from here. I love our country. I want to see it restored to what it once was before all this bulls—t started happening to us. I love my country, I love my family and I will do anything to protect that, I can tell you that right now.”
