*Fox News host Jeanine Pirro is defending country music star Jason Aldean’s new music video for the track “Try That in a Small Town,” which was filmed in front of a historic Tennessee courthouse known as the site where a Black teen was lynched in 1927 by a white mob.
In a segment on “The Five,” Pirro said Aldean chose this location because Black Lives Matter protestors are still breaking the law 100 years later.
“Don’t you think he’s trying to show that there hasn’t been much progress and that, you know, Black Lives Matter is violating the law themselves at this point,” Pirro said, Yahoo reports.
“Rioting and burning,” Pirro added, referring to news clips featured in Aldean’s video of burning American flags and protestors clashing with police. “That’s what happened a hundred years later.”
Aldean released the song in May, but the music video was dropped this week. Aldean sings on the track, “Got a gun that my granddad gave me / They say one day they’re gonna round up / That sh*t may fly in the city / Good luck trying that in a small town.” The lyrics also include: “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 / Around here, we take care of our own / You cross that line, it won’t take long / For you to find out, I recommend you don’t / Try that in a small town.”
After the music video’s release, social media users accused the artist of being racist.
Aldean addressed the controversy on social media in a lengthy message, stating: “In the past 24 hours I have 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.”
Meanwhile, the song was removed from Country Music Television (CMT) rotation on July 17.
WATCH:
READ MORE: Country Singer Jason Aldean Reacts to Criticism Over ‘Pro-Lynching’ Song
