Maren Morris Seemingly Hits Back at Jason Aldean's 'Small Town' Song in New Music Video Tease
Maren Morris is seemingly choosing a side in the Jason Aldean song debate.
"The Middle" songstress took to Instagram on Thursday, Sept. 7, with a teaser video from an upcoming release, which depicted a photo of herself followed by the camera zeroing in on a sign that reads "Welcome to Our Perfect Small Town From Sunrise to Sundown."
From the looks of the clip—where the words "Small Town" are featured in bold, bright red, all capital letters as an image of the American flag is included behind them—she seemingly made a subtle dig at the "Try That in a Small Town" crooner, whose summer-released tune caught major backlash for its questionable lyrics and video messaging.
"Cuss out a cop, spit in his face / Stomp on the flag and light it up / Yeah, ya think you're tough," Aldean's song lyrics state, as the chorus comes in, "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."
Related: Brittany Aldean Seemingly Weighs in After Jason Aldean's Music Video Backlash
The tune later goes on to say, "Full of good ol' boys, raised up right / If you're looking for a fight / Try that in a small town," among other disconcerting declarations.
Several people called it out for racism, accusing the country musician of fueling divisive behavior and promoting violence with the pro-lynching and pro-firearm video, which was filmed at the Maury County Courthouse in Columbia, Tennessee—the site of the 1927 lynching of then-18-year-old Black teenager, Henry Choate.
Now, fans think Morris' video tease is a direct reference to Aldean's controversial track (which notably, has since been pulled from CMT).
The "My Church" singer captioned her social media post, "I'm done filling a cup with a hole in the bottom."
In the comment section of the upload, Instagrammers poured in with reactions.
"MAREN IN HER PETTY ERA I AM HERE FOR IT ??," one scream-wrote in excitement, as another applauded, "@marenmorris is a boss and a hero who isn’t afraid to be a bigger human and stand up against senseless bullies! ??."
"'welcome to our perfect SMALL TOWN' you did not ??," another wrote in disbelief of the obvious dig, an unsurprising revelation in the feud saga between Morris and the Aldeans.
Related: Maren Morris Shares 'Lunatic Country Music Person' Costume in Subtle Nod to Brittany Aldean Feud
Brandi Carlile chimed in to say, "Oh it is ON ??."
Additionally, fellow country artist Sheryl Crow has previously spoken out about the controversial song, voicing sheer opposition toward Aldean's dangerous expression and "lame" response.
Though the "Burnin' It Down" crooner has since addressed the matter insisting "there is not a single lyric in the song that references race or points to it," several artists such as Jason Isbell, Adeem the Artist, and Margo Price have refuted his claims, continuing to condemn the song's rhetoric.
On the other hand, Travis Tritt, John Rich and Lee Greenwood have defended Aldean.
