'The View' Hosts Weigh in on Jason Aldean Song Debate
The View's roundtable is weighing in on the recent controversy caused by the release of Jason Aldean's latest music video.
"Try That In A Small Town" has been catapulted to the forefront of pop culture discussions, with many viewers accusing Aldean of taking a racist, pro-lynching stance in both the lyrics of the single and its accompanying music.
Per Page Six, the hosts found the whole track "deplorable," starting with Whoopi Goldberg, who pointed out Aldean's use of footage of police clashing with Black Lives Matter protesters back in 2020.
“He talks about life in a small town, and it’s different, and he chose these images,” Goldberg pointed out.
“He’s got folks from the Black Lives Matter movement, and he’s talking about people taking care of each other, and I find it so interesting that it never occurred to Jason or the writers that that’s what these folks were doing: They were taking care of the people in their town because they didn’t like what they saw.”
She continued, “You just have to realize that when you make it about Black Lives Matter, people kind of say, ‘Well, are you talking about Black people? What are you talking about here?'”
Aldean has, of course, denied the claims, writing, in part, in a statement on Twitter: "These references are not only meritless [sic], 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."
In response, Goldberg clapped back, "It does go too far? You’ve gone too far.”
Sunny Hostin, whose parents were an interracial couple in South Carolina, said the song reminded her of stories that they once told her. The two were "run out of South Carolina by the KKK,” an experience which her father is still scarred by, continuing,"...so don’t tell me that not only was he aware of what he was doing by using that imagery, he embraces that imagery."
Even so, the song hit the top of the iTunes charts. "We have a problem in this country about race, and the biggest problem is we refuse to admit that it exists,” Hostin added.
While Joy Behar agreed the song was "divisive," she pointed out his right to create it. "...they can’t censor me, they can’t censor him,” she explained.
Sheryl Crow recently spoke out on the controversy as well, retweeting a post from Shannon Watts, the founder of Moms Demand Action, an organization at the forefront of the fight for gun control, that called out Aldean for writing a song "about how he and his friends will shoot you if you try to take their guns."
The "Soak Up The Sun" singer was in agreement, pointing out that she herself was from a small town, and that wasn't the way they operated. "Even people in small towns are sick of violence. There’s nothing small-town or American about promoting violence."
She argued that Aldean, who survived a mass shooting himself, should know that "better than anyone."
Aldean's wife, Brittany, who has been involved in controversies of her own previously, seemed to address the issue as well, albeit subtly, when she posted a photo of the pair at the beach and captioned it: "Never apologize for speaking the truth??????."
She addressed the backlash more directly on her Instagram Story, writing, "Media.. it's the same song and dance. Twist everything you can to fit your repulsive narrative. How about instead of creating stories, we focus on the REAL ones such as CHILD TRAFFICKING? Food for thought."
Next, Jason Aldean Gives Health Update After Abruptly Ending Concert: 'Pretty Intense'