In his first performance since the “Try That in a Small Town” controversy, Jason Aldean hit back against critics of the song.
“I’ve seen a lot of stuff suggesting I’m this, suggesting I’m that,” Aldean told the crowd in Cincinnati. “Here’s one thing I feel: I feel everybody’s entitled to their opinion.”
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“You can think something all you want to, it doesn’t mean it’s true. What I am is a proud American… I love our country. I want to see it restored to what it once was before all this bulls–t started happening to us,” he added, in the quote captured by Deadline.
Aldean was referring to the backlash which his music video received after it was posted online last week. Critics noted that it was shot in Columbia, Tenn., the site of a notorious 1927 lynching.
Critics also see problematic undertones in the lyrics. One passage: “Got a gun that my granddad gave me, they say one day they’re gonna round up, well, that s–t might fly in the city, good luck,” Aldean sings during one section.
Not long after the chatter started online, Country Music Television pulled the video off the air, without commenting on the exact reason for the decision.
“You guys know how it is, in this day and age — cancel culture is a thing,” the country singer told the crowd in Cincinnati on Friday night.
“That’s something that if people don’t like what you say they try to make sure they can cancel you, which means try to ruin your life, ruin everything,” he added.
Aldean thanked his Cincinnati fans for seeing through what he believed to be a false narrative, and for showing up to support him.
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Chants of “USA! USA! USA!” rose from the crowd.
Aldean will continue his “Highway Desperado” tour with stops in Columbia, Md. and Hershey, Pa. in the coming week.
