Jason Aldean is standing by his controversial song after being accused of promoting gun violence and racism in its lyrics and music video.
The country singer, 46, reiterated his defense of the video and lyrics for his song “Try That in a Small Town” during a Friday night gig at Cincinnati’s Riverbend Music Center.
During the show, he pointed to “cancel culture” and said he wanted the U.S. to be “restored to what it once was, before all this bulls— started happening to us.”
“I gotta tell you guys, man, it’s been a long-ass week. It’s been a long week, and I’ve seen a lot of stuff. I’ve seen a lot of stuff suggesting I’m this, suggesting I’m that. Here’s the thing, here’s one thing I feel: I feel like everybody’s entitled to their opinion,” he said. “You can think something all you want to, doesn’t mean it’s true, right?”
“What I am is a proud American. I’m proud to be from here,” Aldean continued. “I love our country, I want to see it restored to what it once was before all this bulls— started happening to us. I love our country, I love my family, and I will do anything to protect that. I’ll tell you that right now.”
After several “U.S.A.” chants began from audience members, Aldean mentioned “cancel culture” and defined it as people trying to “make sure that they can cancel you, which means try to ruin your life, ruin everything” if they “don’t like what you say.”
“One thing I saw this week was a bunch of country music fans that could see through a lot of the bulls—,” he added.
The country singer sparked controversy this week with the release of the music video for his May single — which was penned by Kurt Allison, Tully Kennedy, Kelley Lovelace and Neil Thrasher.
In the video, Aldean performs in front of the Maury County Courthouse in Columbia, Tennessee — where the 1927 lynching of Henry Choate took place. (Choate was an 18-year-old Black man accused of attacking a white woman.)
The video also includes visuals of the unrest and looting that took place during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
Tacklebox, the music video’s production company, has since told PEOPLE that the filming location has been used for other projects in the past and that Aldean did not pick the video location.
In his initial response to backlash this week, Aldean wrote that he’s “been accused of releasing a pro-lynching song (a song that has been out since May) and was subject to the comparison that I (direct quote) was not too pleased with the nationwide BLM protests.”
“These references are not only meritless but dangerous. 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,” he wrote on Twitter.
The star’s wife, Brittany Kerr Aldean, came to his defense in a statement shared on her Instagram Story, as did former President Donald Trump, who posted via Truth Social alongside his “MAGA” messaging.
Among those who’ve expressed concern over Aldean’s single is Sheryl Crow, who wrote in a candid Twitter post that “even people in small towns are sick of violence.”
“There’s nothing small-town or American about promoting violence,” she said. “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’s comments also came as a reply to a Twitter post from anti-gun violence activist Shannon Watts, who had shared the lyrics to the song and pointed out that Aldean “was on-stage during the mass shooting at a Las Vegas concert in 2017 that killed 60 people and wounded over 400 more.”
The “Try That in a Small Town” music video has since been pulled from CMT, per Billboard.
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