Country music singer Jason Aldeon is facing an intense wave of backlash after his song, “Try That In A Small Town”, went viral online, prompting many people to accuse him of dog-whistle racism. The song sets footage of Black Lives Matter protests alongside lyrics like: “Try that in a small town / See how far ya make it down the road / Around here, we take care of our own.” The song continues: “Cuss out a cop, spit in his face / Stomp on the flag and light it up / Yeah, ya think you’re tough.” Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter The BLM protests were a direct reaction to the murder of African-American man George Floyd by a white police officer. The clips in the music video, which also include an attempted convenience store robbery and other apparent crimes, alternate with shots of Aldean and his band performing in the public square of Columbia, Tennessee. To make things worse, the video is shot in front of the Maury County Courthouse, which at times appears to be on fire with images of burning US flags projected onto it. It’s the same building where a mob hanged 18-year-old African-American Henry Choate from the balcony in 1927. Columbia is also the site of an infamous 1946 race riot that nearly resulted in the lynching of future Supreme Court justice Thurgood Marshall. Another lyric goes: “Got a gun that my granddad gave me / They say one day they’re gonna round up / Well that s--- might fly in the city / Good luck.” Country Music Television (CMT) confirmed Tuesday that it had pulled the video from rotation. Social media has been ablaze with the controversy for much of the last week. Democrat state representative for Tenessee, Justin Jones, called the song "heinous", and a "shameful vision of gun extremism and vigilantism". One user said that if Lil Durk, a black American rapper, made a response to Aldean's video called "Try That On The South Side of Chicago", it would likely be denounced as violent. Others shared videos explaining exactly why people are interpreting the song as dog-whistle racism. Aldean has stood by the song, saying: “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.” Needless to say, the people defending him are all the ones you might expect. Top Republicans have jumped to Aldean’s aid, including former president Donald Trump and Florida governor Ron DeSantis. “Jason Aldean is a fantastic guy who just came out with a great new song. Support Jason all the way. MAGA!!!” Trump posted on his Truth Social account. The conservative influencer Ben Shapiro posted a video to his YouTube channel titled “Jason Aldean REFUSES To Get Cancelled”, in which he discusses the controversy and takes Aldean’s side. Most recently, Aldean has been filmed at a concert over the weekend defending the song further. He said: “What I am is a proud American.” “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 my country, I love my family, and I will do anything to protect that. I can tell you that.” Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Australian actor Jacob Elordi's towering stature has been deemed as one of his most attractive qualities by his fans

Hollywood actor Marlon Wayans has opened up about what it’s been like as a parent to a transgender child, admitting he was in “denial” at first. Wayans is best known for his role in White Chicks and the actor recently spoke about his eldest child who is transgender. Speaking on The Breakfast Club radio show, Wayans opened up about his 23-year-old son Kai’s gender identity, revealing that he is transgender. In a discussion about an upcoming stand-up special about the topic, Wayans spoke about the content, explaining: “I have a daughter that transitioned into a son. My daughter Amai is now Kai, and so, I talk about the transition. “Not their transition, but my transition as a parent, going from ignorance and denial to complete unconditional love and acceptance.” He continued the conversation, adding that there are a lot of parents who would benefit from hearing his positive message about his “respect” for his child’s identity. Wayans added: “I think there's a lot of parents out there that need to have that message and I know I'm dealing with it. “It was a very painful situation for me but, man, [the show is] one of the best, funniest hours I could ever imagine.” The proud father said, “I just want my kids to be free. I want them to be free in spirit, free in thought, free to be themselves. The more you know yourself, the more you can govern yourself. The more you live your truth, the happier your existence”. Given the current hostile political climate surrounding trans rights, people praised Wayans for his unconditional love and support of his child. “What an incredible man and excellent parent. Wow!” someone commented. Another wrote: “This is beautiful. And the fact that this is coming from a BLACK FATHER makes it more beautiful.” Someone else said: “Love this. The type of dad I strive to be every day.” How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Sign up to our free indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

On New Year’s Eve, Colombian superstar Maluma bid farewell to his musical alter ego Papi Juancho

Andrew Tate's recent tweet showcases him deviating from his rants and talking about love

Lil Tay confirmed that she is alive and well and stated that her social media was 'compromised,' but Harry Tsang stated that she might be lying

Sketches drawn on the walls of a small room in Florence by Renaissance artist Michelangelo as he hid from an angry pope are going on...

What was Anthony Bourdains's 'wish' on Joe Rogan's show?

In the footage, Mike Calta can apparently be seen physically and verbally attacking a female fan after snatching her phone

The revelation came during a voice call with a viewer that quickly escalated into a heated discussion about gambling

Dylan Dreyer made a post on Instagram announcing that her book got read out by an A-list celebrity

Anna Cardwell's appearance occurs about two months after it was reported that she had been given a stage 4 adrenal carcinoma diagnosis