Six-seconds of footage have been removed from country artist Jason Aldean’s “Try That In A Small Town” music video.
The song was originally released on May 19, though Aldean released an accompanying music video on July 14th.
Aldean’s song discusses civil unrest and features themes and references to small-town America. The music video similarly features actual footage from riots along with other security footage of civil unrest.
Following controversy surrounding the song’s lyrical content and imagery, six-seconds of Fox 5 Atlanta’s coverage of a Black Lives Matter (BLM) riot have been quietly removed from the video.
The edited segments were originally featured projected on the exterior of the Maury County Courthouse in Tennessee. Critics of Aldean’s song noted an 18-year-old black man was publicly hanged outside the courthouse nearly 100 years ago.
The footage was edited due to “third party copyright clearance issues,” according to Aldean’s record label BBR Music Group, per the Washington Post.
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“Try That In A Small Town” has garnered just under 20 million views since its debut earlier this month and currently holds the number 1 position on Apple’s iTunes chart.
Critics also pointed towards Aldean’s lyrics detailing a “gun that my granddad gave me” suggesting the song’s title was an open threat while also referencing Aldean’s presence during the 2017 Las Vegas shooting. Aldean was performing on stage during the Route 91 Harvest festival as Stephen Paddock reportedly opened fire on the crowd from the 32nd floor of his hotel room at Mandalay Bay.
Country Music Television (CMT) confirmed the music video had been pulled from its network as of Monday, per Variety.
“These references are not only meritless, but dangerous,” Aldean wrote in a Twitter post. “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 has insisted the song does not comment on race relations in America but rather “refers to the feeling of community that [he] had growing up.”
“We took care of our neighbors regardless of differences of background or belief. Because they were our neighbors, and that was above any differences,” Aldean wrote in a post to X, formerly known as Twitter. “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.”
The country artist further commented on criticism during a Friday concert in Cincinnati, Ohio.
“I feel like everybody’s entitled to their opinion. You can think, you can think something all you want to, it doesn’t mean it’s true, right?” Aldean told fans during the show. “Somebody asked me, ‘Hey man, do you think you’re going to play this song tonight?’ The answer was simple. The people have spoken and you guys spoke very, very loudly this week.”
