Country singer Ted Nugent has joined the discussion on Jason Aldean’s new song ‘Try That In a Small Town’, a tune that has sparked intense controversy in the past few weeks.
The song was met with immense backlash as being ‘racist’ and ‘pro-lynching’, and it was even pulled from the airwaves as fellow celebrities and musicians chimed in with their opinions.
In fact, the hosts on popular daytime talk show The View spoke about the type of messages the song alluded to. Co-host Whoopi Goldberg called out Aldean’s use of imagery in the music video, which showed confrontations between Black Lives Matter activists and police.
“He talks about life in a small town, and it’s different, and he chose these images,” Goldberg said.
“He’s got folks from the Black Lives Matter movement, and he’s talking about people taking care of each other, and I find it so interesting that it never occurred to Jason or the writers that that’s what these folks were doing: They were taking care of the people in their town because they didn’t like what they saw,” she added.
Last week, Aldean was forced to defend himself over the song, taking to Twitter to write:
“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 continued: “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.”
The ‘Dirt Road Anthem’ singer then added: “‘Try That In A Small Town‘, for me, refers to the feeling of a community that I had growing up, where we took care of our neighbors, regardless of differences of background or belief. Because they were our neighbors, and that was above any differences.”
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.…
— Jason Aldean (@Jason_Aldean) July 18, 2023
Ted Nugent has now hopped into the discussion to defend Aldean, telling Fox News over the weekend (via New York Post): “I know there’s a bunch of idiots out there, but you need to learn to get a kick out of the idiots. The idiots hate this Jason Aldean song because they hate when we push back against violence.”
He continued: “They always get it 180 degrees wrong. This song is against violence. The song is about self-defense. The song is about protecting your loved ones in your neighborhood. If you find fault with a song that celebrates protecting your loved ones, your neighborhood, you might be going down to Target to the Satan display and get down on your knees.
“These are just weird people. We dismiss them because they’ve gotten out of hand because they’ve got no soul. I laugh in their face,” he added.
