Country music artist Jason Aldean is a target of cancel culture, but it doesn’t seem to bother him very much.
Aldean performed at Riverbend Music Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, Friday night to a sold-out crowd, and he didn’t hold back from singing “Try That in a Small Town,” the song that’s generated so much vitriol from American leftists.
He didn’t hold back in his introduction to the song, either.
“I gotta tell you guys,” he said to the audience in a break between numbers. “It’s been a long-a** week. It’s been a long week and I’ve seen a lot of stuff, I’ve seen a lot of stuff suggesting I’m this, suggesting I’m that.”
He wasn’t arguing that those viewpoints should not have been shared, however.
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“I feel like everybody’s entitled to their opinion,” he explained. “You can think something all you want to; that doesn’t mean it’s true, right?
“What I am is a proud American. 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*** started happening to it,” he added.
He didn’t elaborate on his concerns about what, specifically, had “started happening” to the U.S., but it seems likely that he was referring to the problem of rampant crime — which is highlighted in his song — as well as the desire of certain elements within the country to impinge upon the free speech rights of those with whom they disagree.
“I love my country, I love my family, and I will do anything to protect that, I can tell you that right now,” he said.
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At that point, the crowd — apparently spontaneously — began chanting “USA! USA!” while Aldean acknowledged the chant with a pointed finger over the crowd.
Aldean then complained specifically about cancel culture, presumably over his song. (The song was released in May, but the video came out only this month, which sparked the backlash.)
Aldean praised his fans for standing up to those who would silence his voice, one the fans at his concert obviously agreed with.
He added that a number of people had asked whether he planned to continue performing the song in concert, a question to which he said he had a “simple answer:”
“The people have spoken, and you guys spoke very, very loudly this week.”
Neither of the following tweets contains Aldean’s statement in full, but in tandem they capture the whole thing.
WARNING: The following videos contain graphic language that some views may find offensive.
Jason Aldean is not backing down 🔥 pic.twitter.com/yDPWP1mNO3
— AG 🔥 (@Yolo304741) July 22, 2023
Jason Aldean BROUGHT THE 🔥🔥🔥
YOU CAN NOT CANCEL THIS MAN!!! pic.twitter.com/1lkrjWL6Ip
— Graham Allen (@GrahamAllen_1) July 22, 2023
Aldean also addressed the controversy surrounding the song on Twitter earlier this week.
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
“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,” Aldean tweeted. “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.
Aldean explained why he wrote the song.
“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.
“My political views have never been something I’ve hidden from, and I know that a lot of us in this Country don’t agree on how we get back to a sense of normalcy where we go at least a day without a headline that keeps us up at night. But the desire for it to- that’s what this song is about.”
