'Cancel culture is a thing': Jason Aldean addresses 'Small Town' backlash at Ohio concert

CINCINNATI, Ohio – Country star Jason Aldean addressed the controversy over his song "Try That In A Small Town" during a concert in Ohio on Friday night.

To crowd chants of "USA! USA!" Aldean told the crowd that it had been a "long" week but that he wouldn't hesitate to play the song, which critics say glorifies vigilantism and racism.

"What I am is a proud American," Aldean told the crowd at Cincinnati's Riverbend Music Center, several videos shared on social media show.

"I love our country. I want to see it restored to what it once was before all this (expletive) started happening to us," he said, without elaborating.

"Cancel culture is a thing. ... which means try and ruin your life, ruin everything. One thing I saw this week was a bunch of country music fans that could see through" the issue, he said.

"I saw country music fans rally like I've never seen before and it was pretty badass to watch, I gotta say," Aldean said.

He said he had been asked if he would play the song. "The answer is simple. The people have spoken and you guys spoke very very loudly." He then played the song.

Country Music Television is no longer airing the music video for "Try That in a Small Town," after Aldean, who survived a mass shooting while he performed in 2017, faced backlash for the song.

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Not long after the video's release, online critics highlighted the song lyrics as emblematic of songs heightening gun violence and lynching sentiments upon many in his rural, small-town fan base.

"Cuss out a cop, spit in his face / Stomp on the flag and light it up / Yeah, ya think you're tough / Well, 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 / For you to find out, I recommend you don't / Try that in a small town," Aldean sings.

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Viewers also noted that scenes in the video were shot at the Maury County Courthouse in Columbia, Tennessee, where a Black man named Henry Choate, 18, was lynched in 1927. The site is also where the infamous Columbia Race Riot occurred in 1946.

The song has become a rallying point for conservatives, shooting to the top of iTunes' chart in the wake of the controversy. Former President Donald Trump defended Aldean as a "fantastic guy," and several other Republican presidential candidates have declared their support.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Jason Aldean defends 'Try That in a Small Town' song at Ohio concert