Jason Aldean took aim at “cancel culture” during a concert Friday as he applauded country music fans for their support in the wake of recent backlash over his single “Try That in a Small Town.”
Aldean went to bat for the song early last week after dropping the single’s music video, which features visuals of the singer performing at the site of a historic lynching in Tennessee, and denied accusations it was a “pro-lynching song.”
In a speech to fans at Cincinnati’s Riverbend Music Center, the singer referred to his “long ass week” before declaring that “everyone is entitled to their opinion,” as he spoke of his pride for his country.
“I love our country. I want to see it restored to what it once was before all this bullshit started happening to us. I love my country, I love my family and I will do anything to protect that, I can tell you that right now,” Aldean said before a thunderous “USA” chant broke out at the concert.
Aldean later took aim at “cancel culture” before sending a shoutout to “a bunch of” country fans.
“You guys know how it is this day and age, cancel culture is a thing. That’s something that if people don’t like what you say, they try and make sure that they can cancel you, which means try and ruin your life, ruin everything,” Aldean said. “One thing I saw this week was a bunch of country music fans that can see through a lot of the bullshit.”
The singer reflected on his fans’ values, adding that they want to take their children to movies and not worry about a mass shooting.
In a lengthy tweet on Tuesday, Aldean noted his presence at the 2017 Las Vegas music festival shooting and stated that “NO ONE” including him “wants to continue to see senseless headlines or families ripped apart.”
CMT pulled Aldean’s music video from the air Monday and a number of fellow artists criticized the singer in the past week.
In a tweet directed at Aldean, Sheryl Crow wrote that she’s from a small town and dismissed that there’s anything “small-town or American about promoting violence.”
“You should know that better than anyone having survived a mass shooting. This is not American or small town-like. It’s just lame,” she wrote.