Sheryl Crow is not pulling any punches in response to Jason Aldean’s controversial new single, “Try That in a Small Town.” In a post on Twitter, Crow asserts that the singer is out of step with the public mood and should know better.
“I’m from a small town,” Crow wrote. “Even people in small towns are sick of violence. There’s nothing small-town or American about promoting violence. 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 response quotes a viral post from Moms Demand Action founder Shannon Watts, which points out the irony that Aldean himself was in a mass shooting.
On Wednesday, Margo Price tweeted that Aldean is “a clown” and resurfaced a photo of the country singer in blackface at a Halloween party.
Aldean initially released “Try That in a Small Town” in May. It stayed mostly under the radar until last week when it caromed into the cultural discourse after Aldean and director Shaun Silva dropped a video for the song featuring the country star performing in front of a courthouse — reportedly in Columbia, Tennessee, the site of a 1933 lynching — and interspersed with footage depicting protests as violent and lawless.
The backlash against the video, song, and Aldean himself has been swift, culminating with CMT, the country-music cable network, pulling the music video from its rotation. (A rep for CMT confirmed to Rolling Stone that the video was no longer airing.)
Aldean responded to the criticism on Tuesday with a lengthy post on social media.
“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,” Aldean wrote. “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 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.”
In his post, Aldean explained his interpretation of the song, written by Kelley Lovelace, Kurt Allison, Neil Thrasher, and Tully Kennedy and produced by Aldean’s longtime producer Michael Knox.
“‘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,” he wrote. “Because they were our neighbors, and that was above any differences. My political views have never been something I’ve hidden from, and I know that a lot of us in this country don’t agree on how we get back to a sense of normalcy where we go at least one day without a headline that keeps us up at night. But the desire for it to – that’s what this song is about.”
Crow is not the only prominent figure to stand up against the song. Tennessee’s Rep. Justin Jones also tweeted in response, writing, “As Tennessee lawmakers, we have an obligation to condemn Jason Aldean’s heinous song calling for racist violence. What a shameful vision of gun extremism and vigilantism. We will continue to call for common sense gun laws, that protect ALL our children and communities.”
LeVar Burton pointed out the music video’s problematic setting, adding, “Good morning, y’all… to everyone except @Jason_Aldean!”
Update: This story was updated June 19 at 5 p.m. EST with Margo Price’s tweet.