‘There’s nothing small-town or American about promoting violence’
After Aldean released an incendiary video for the track — which includes violent imagery from the 2020 Black Lives Matter marches and lyrics like, “Cuss out a cop, spit in his face. Stomp on the flag and light it up. Yeah, ya think you’re tough? Try that in a small town” — Crow, 61, weighed in on the single after the country star went viral this week.
“.@Jason_Aldean I’m from a small town. Even people in small towns are sick of violence.There’s nothing 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” – Crow tweeted, responding to Jason Aldean’s video.
Gun control activist Shannon Watts criticized the lyrics, given that Aldean was performing during the Vegas mass shooting. She wrote, “@Jason_Aldean — who was onstage during the mass shooting at a Las Vegas concert in 2017 that killed 60 people and wounded over 400 more — has recorded a song called Try That In A Small Town about how he and his friends will shoot you if you try to take their guns.”
Brittany Packnett Cunningham criticized the Grammy nominee for blowing a “racist dog whistle” and for not understanding the facts when it comes to guns in small towns. She wrote, “Most mass shootings occur in *small towns*. Your listeners are dying.” News editor Ashton Pittman noted that Aldean filmed his music video at the same location a Black man was lynched in 1927.