Jason Aldean took aim at “abandonment culture” on Friday as he applauded country fans for “seeing through a lot of crap” following the recent backlash over his single “Try That in a Small Town.”
Aldean championed the song early last week, denying it was a “pro-Lynch song” after releasing the single’s music video, which shows images of the singer performing at a venue historic lynching site in Tennessee.
In a speech to fans at the Riverbend Center in Cincinnati over the weekend, the singer referred to his “long ass week” before declaring that “everyone is entitled to their opinion” while speaking of his pride for his country.
“I love our country, I want it to go back to what it was before all this nonsense happened to us. I love my country, I love my family and I will do whatever it takes to protect it, I can tell you that now,” Aldean said before a thunderous “USA” shout rang out at the concert.
Aldean later aimed to “break the culture” before offering a salute to “a bunch” of country fans.
“You know how it is these days, the culture of abandonment is one thing. If people don’t like what you say, they try to make sure they can cancel you, which means you’re trying to ruin your life, ruin everything,” Aldean said.
“One thing I saw this week was a lot of country fans who can see through a lot of the crap…”
The singer continued to reflect on his fans’ values, adding that they want to take their kids to the movies and not worry about a mass shooting.
aldean, in a long tweet on Tuesdaynoted his presence at the 2017 Las Vegas Music Festival shooting and explained that “NOBODY,” including him, “would like to see more pointless headlines or families torn apart.”
Aldean’s speech arrives after CMT dropped its music video off the air and a number of fellow artists criticized the artist.
Sheryl Crow wrote in a tweet addressed to Aldean that she is from a small town and denied that encouraging violence was anything “small town or American.”
“You should know that better than anyone who survived a mass shooting. It’s neither American nor small-town. It’s just lame,” she wrote.