Six seconds removed from Jason Aldean's 'Try That in a Small Town' video amid controversy

In response to the massive wave of criticism against the music video for Jason Aldean's May-released and now top-5 charting Billboard all-genre Hot 100 single "Try That in a Small Town," The Washington Post has reported that the 12-day-old clip, with Black Lives Matter protest footage removed, is now six seconds shorter.

A news clip from Atlanta's Fox 5 showing the city's violent 2020 and 2021 Black Lives Matter protest confrontations is no longer visible in the video. Moreover, adds Aldean's representatives, a spoken-word clip of a wheelchair-bound elderly man appealing to rural values and another man in a baseball cap and sunglasses staring into the sun are not present in the video's re-uploaded version.

TackleBox, the production company behind the music video, nor YouTube have yet to make official statements in regards to the newly-edited version of the video.

About the removal of both moments, Aldean's label, Broken Bow Records, adds that "third party copyright clearance issues" are to blame for the removal of the footage, not online criticism perceiving the song's lyrical content to invoke pro-gun violence and lynching sentiments.

Previously, TackleBox, the production company for the video, said the Maury County Courthouse in Columbia, Tennessee, where the video was shot is — alongside being the site of a lynching and race riot seven decades ago — a popular filming location outside of Nashville, and cited several music videos and films that have been filmed there.

They include the Lifetime Original movie "Steppin' into the Holiday" with Mario Lopez and Jana Kramer, a music video from Runaway June's "We Were Rich," and Paramount holiday film "A Nashville Country Christmas" with Tanya Tucker, as well the Hannah Montana film.

The company added that Aldean did not pick the location.

More: Jason Aldean's 'Try That in a Small Town' scores record-breaking sales despite controversy

In a statement made July 19, after CMT entirely removed the video from its rotation, Aldean also posted the following statement on social media:

"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. 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."

On July 14, Aldean premiered the "Try That in a Small Town" video on social media and YouTube by stating the caustically-written song (penned by Kelley Lovelace, Neil Thrasher, Tully Kennedy, and Kurt Allison) was an appeal to a "sense of community and respect [that had] gotten lost" which he wanted "to get back to."

At a Cincinnati concert appearance at Riverbend Music Center on July 21, the "Dirt Road Anthem" vocalist — amid patriotic chanting from the crowd in attendance — stated that it had been a "long-a** week" but that he wouldn't hesitate to play the song.

"Somebody asked me, 'Hey man, do you think you're going to play this song tonight?' The answer was simple. The people have spoken and you guys spoke very, very loudly this week."

"What I am is a proud American. I love our country. I want to see [the country] restored to what it once was before all this bulls*** started happening to us. 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 a lot of the bulls***, all right? I saw country music fans rally like I've never seen before and it was pretty bada** to watch, I gotta say," he flatly stated.

For subscribers: Town where Jason Aldean's controversial video was filmed defends 'small town values'

Other country music artists, including chart-topping Academy of Country Music and Country Music Association award-nominated breakout star Cody Johnson, have recently rallied to vocally support Aldean.

In a concert appearance also on July 21, Johnson, while appearing at St. Louis' Chiafetz Arena, stated, "If you're videoing this, and Jason Aldean if you're seeing this video, you keep it up, brother. You do you, boo boo."

The "Til You Can't" singer added, "If being patriotic makes you an outlaw, then by God, I'll be an outlaw."

"Try That in a Small Town" is currently the best-selling country song to debut on Billboard's charts in over a decade, selling 228,000 digital copies and garnering 11.6 million streams in the past week. On YouTube, the video will soon eclipse 20 million views.

Aldean's controversial conservatism is not new to his media presentation.

In a November 2021 Audacy interview, Aldean stated, "At some point, it's gotten to where if you're a conservative and you're in this business, you're not allowed to speak," he noted. "It's hard to go lay my head down at night with a clear conscience, feeling like I'm a coward for not saying the things that I want to say, or I feel like need to be said."

The 27-time country music chart-topper and Academy of Country Music Artist of the Decade for the 2010s is currently on the road for his Highway Desperado Tour through November.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Jason Aldean's 'Try That In A Small Town' video edited amid controversy