Country artist faces backlash

Jason Aldean is defending his song “Try That in a Small Town” after Country Music Television pulled the video from its on-air rotation earlier this week. The station declined to comment on why it removed the video. The song was first released in May but received significant criticism since the video’s premiere on Friday.

Why is the video controversial? It includes real news clips of violent riots and flag burnings from the past several years. Other backlash came from the video’s location, the courthouse in Maury County, Tenn., where a black teenager was lynched in 1927. Critics also claim that the lyrics promote gun violence and vigilantism. Aldean argued that the song in no way references race, but is rather about the feeling of community in a small town where people take care of each other regardless of background or belief.

Dig deeper: Listen to Kim Henderson’s story on The World and Everything in It podcast about one country artist’s musical ministry.