Prominent gun control activist takes credit for ‘Try That In A Small Town’ censorship
Asher Notheis
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A prominent gun control activist has taken credit on social media for Country Music Television removing “Try That In A Small Town” from its network.
The activist, Shannon Watts, is the founder of Moms Demand Action, a grassroots movement for public safety measures to protect people from gun violence. Watts wrote on social media on Tuesday night that she was “proud to have had a hand” in having CMT remove the “racist and violent song” from its rotation.
“Proud to have had a hand in getting CMT to reject this racist and violent song,” Watts wrote on social media.
https://twitter.com/shannonrwatts/status/1681457931370528769?s=20
Additionally, Watts took issue with Jason Aldean, the country artist who made “Try That In A Small Town,” being scheduled to host a fundraiser for the Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, where a school shooting took place in March.
https://twitter.com/shannonrwatts/status/1681509537734619137?s=20
Aldean, a conservative, said on Tuesday he had been “accused of releasing a pro-lynching song … and was subject to the comparison that I … was not too pleased with the nationwide BLM protests.” The singer stated “not a single lyric” in the song references race and that the footage used in the music video was not news footage of riots, and while he does not know if the United States can return to a time “where we go at least a day without a headline that keeps us up at night,” his song is about the desire to return to that time.
“‘Try That In A Small Town,’ for me, refers to the feeling of a community that I had growing up, where we took care of our neighbors, regardless of differences of background or belief,” Aldean wrote on social media. “Because they were our neighbors, and that was above any differences.”
Aldean’s wife, Brittany Aldean, shared her support for her husband on social media, posting a photo of the two and writing, “Never apologize for speaking the truth.”
While the song was released in May, the song’s music video was uploaded to YouTube on Friday. Footage in the video includes a U.S. flag burning, someone holding a Molotov cocktail, and people breaking into jewelry displays. CMT, a television network dedicated to country music videos, pulled the clip on Monday, according to a report.
“Cuss out a cop, spit in his face/Stomp on the flag and light it up/Yeah, ya think you’re tough/Well, try that in a small town/See how far ya make it down the road,” the lyrics read.
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The conservative country singer has received support from multiple notable conservatives over CMT removing its song, including Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD), 2024 presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, and Donald Trump Jr.
The Washington Examiner has contacted Moms Demand Action for comment.