Jason Aldean Reacts to Backlash Over Try That in a Small Town
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00:00 Let's move on to a singer stirring up controversy, Jason Aldean. The country
00:05 star released his new music video just four days ago for "Try That in a Small
00:09 Town" which some say bashes outspoken activists and promotes vigilante gun
00:13 justice in small-town USA.
00:17 Featuring Black Lives Matter protesters, the backdrop of the video is the same
00:26 Tennessee courthouse where Henry Choate was lynched back in 1927.
00:33 Jason who released the track in May has left many divided on social media. One
00:42 fan tweeted quote "this is disgusting" while another defended the song writing
00:46 that Americans are sick and tired of criminals, violence and the defund the
00:51 police movement. Then there's this tweet "you're not from a small town but you
00:55 were at a festival where 60 people were killed in a mass shooting" referring to
00:59 the 2017 Route 91 massacre in Vegas while Jason was on stage. The fact that
01:04 it was it was our fans you know it's people that like our music that came out
01:08 there. I just kind of want to put my arms around everybody and just kind of like
01:12 protect them and just make it better. Today Jason responded to the backlash
01:17 calling it quote "not only meritless but dangerous. There is not a single lyric in
01:21 the song that references race or points to it." He then referenced the Vegas
01:25 tragedy adding "no one including me wants to continue to see senseless
01:29 headlines or families ripped apart. Try that in a small town for me refers to
01:34 the feeling of a community that I had growing up where we took care of our
01:38 neighbors regardless of differences of background or belief." Last month Jason
01:42 performed the song at CMA Fest. Tomorrow ABC will air a special about the four-day
01:47 event hosted by Elking, Dierks Bentley and Laini Wilson and our Rachel Smith
01:51 was exclusively backstage with the stars.
01:55 You are back for round two of co-hosting the CMA Fest. I know you have got all
02:00 sorts of things up your sleeve. You gotta keep Dierks and Laini on their toes.
02:03 They're big sleeves. They're big sleeves. I got a lot of things hidden up
02:07 there. Cards, beers, other things you can't say on TV.
02:12 So 50th anniversary of CMA Fest. You came here as a fan right? Little nine-year-old
02:19 Carly she probably wore a cowboy hat and I knew as a nine-year-old that I wanted
02:23 to do this.
02:25 You are a staple here. How many CMA Fests have you attended sir? All of them. All 50.
02:32 No you have not. Luke Bryan, Miranda Lambert and Tim McGraw also took the
02:37 Nissan Stadium stage and before performing a newcomer Jelly Roll
02:41 couldn't help but gush about one of the festival's hosts. Laini Wilson's my
02:45 sister. There's such a kinship with us and the fact that we're both where we
02:48 are in our careers right now at the same record label with a song together that's
02:52 just on fire. This will be the good old days one day. As for the support actors are
02:57 getting on the picket lines more A-listers are joining the fight as the
03:00 Hollywood SAG-AFTER strike stretches into day five.
03:05 I'm out here to support the unions. I think what they're asking for is totally within reason.
03:12 This is the fight of labor in the future because corporations have such
03:16 overwhelming power. They will squash the worker if we don't stand tall and we
03:21 don't fight. Today Keira Sedgwick joined husband Kevin Bacon who returned to
03:26 picket. So did Tina Fey, Susan Sarandon, Bette Midler and Juliana Margulies.
03:30 Across the pond UK actors are set to rally in solidarity later this week and
03:35 it looks like even Tom Cruise made it his mission to save Hollywood. This is
03:40 what I do. I make movies. I love it. I absolutely love it.
03:44 Tom reportedly made a surprise appearance on a zoom call during last
03:48 month's negotiations urging the AMPTP to hear out actors concerns about AI. It's
03:53 one of the main sticking points in the strike and interestingly enough it's the
03:57 main villain in Tom's latest Mission Impossible movie. The world is changing.
04:02 The daredevil also showed support for stunt performers and even asked SAG-AFTER
04:07 to consider letting actors promote their projects during the strike given the
04:10 fragile state of movie theaters post pandemic. He's already been credited with
04:15 helping the industry by insisting Maverick be released in theaters. During
04:19 that whole time period I kept calling the theater owners and saying look you
04:22 guys hang in there. So we have Top Gun Maverick. It's gonna go to the big screen
04:26 and we're gonna have that experience for you and and to see it open up the way it
04:31 did it meant a lot to me in so many ways. As for the strike's impact on Tom's
04:36 latest project, Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning part 2 was slated for a June
04:41 2024 release but could wind up being pushed back since filming was halted.
04:47 (dramatic music)