The controversy over Jason Aldean’s “Try That In A Small Town” song and video continues today (July 19): As of this post, Aldean is the No. 1 trending topic on Twitter. In a nutshell, after Aldean released a new video for the two-month-old song a few days ago, the song received broad attention for its allegedly racist and pro-violence lyrics, as well as for the imagery of robbery and protests in the video.
We’ve heard from Aldean, we’ve heard from detractors like Sheryl Crow, and now, we have the perspective of a supporter: “Pound Town“-hating conservative commentator Ben Shapiro.
This morning, Shapiro tweeted, “Good for Jason Aldean not backing down on this idiotic non-troversy. Never apologize for your perspective based on the bad-faith trollery of the Twitterverse.”
Good for Jason Aldean not backing down on this idiotic non-troversy. Never apologize for your perspective based on the bad-faith trollery of the Twitterverse.
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) July 19, 2023
He then quote-tweeted a tweet that reads, “These are the Jason Aldean lyrics liberals are saying are racist: ‘Sucker punch somebody on a sidewalk, Carjack an old lady at a red light. Pull a gun on the owner of a liquor store. Ya think it’s cool, well, act a fool if ya like. Cuss out a cop, spit in his face. Stomp on the flag and light it up. Yeah, ya think you’re tough. Try that in a small town.’ Somebody point me to the racism.” Shapiro added, “If you think these lyrics are racist, you are a racist. You apparently think these crimes are exclusively black or some such nonsense.”
If you think these lyrics are racist, you are a racist. You apparently think these crimes are exclusively black or some such nonsense. https://t.co/5UPQJDSGKM
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) July 19, 2023
As for what Aldean himself said, he wrote in part, “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.”
