An Ohio sheriff has released a video defending country star Jason Aldean, whose recent track and accompanying video have received both praise and backlash.
Aldean’s song “Try That in a Small Town” has vastly divided . The song received criticism for appearing to hold a pro-gun stance, and for depicting violent themes and showing a Tennessee courthouse where a Black teenager was lynched in 1927 in the music video, which has since been pulled by the Country Music Television channel. The track has topped several charts.
“I’m here to talk about my new favorite artist, Jason Aldean. He has got a song out that is somewhat controversial amongst some people. It just so happens that I like this song and I support what he is saying,” Butler County on Thursday. “The song is ‘Try That in a Small Town,’ the United States is made up of a lot of small towns, all over the [country].”
![Butler County Sheriff's Office](https://i0.wp.com/regalrumination.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/butler-county-sheriffs-office.jpg?resize=1200%2C835)
Butler County Sheriff’s Office/Getty
In his video, the sheriff dismissed criticism suggesting the song was racist and said the issues of race were not the point of the song. Jones went on to praise his perception of small-town living and called on those sick of violence in cities to consider moving to a small-town area.
“And he is talking and showing in the video the riots that took place and he is showing where they are burning the cities and doing all these crazy things, fighting and fighting the police. ” he said. “Basically what he is saying is that in a small town, that won’t happen because the people in a small town won’t put up with that. They’ll come in and they’ll stop it. It won’t just be the police, everybody comes together.”
“I love my country, I like this song, it is probably going to be my new theme song, I like it that much,” added . “It doesn’t matter if you are a Republican, a Democrat or an Independent, a man or a woman, it doesn’t matter. America is a great place to live.”
Regalrumination.com has contacted the Butler County Sheriff’s Office via for comment.
Former President also spoke out in defense of and the track.
“Jason Aldean is a fantastic guy who just came out with a great new song,” he wrote on his Truth Social platform on Thursday. “Support Jason all the way. MAGA!!!”
Trump’s statement comes after Aldean’s music video sparked criticism from many for being filmed outside of the Maury County Courthouse in Columbia, Tennessee, where a white mob killed . The music video also shows riots and protests in different parts of the country.
Aldean issued a statement on on Tuesday to say that his song was not focusing on race or politics.
“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,” he 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 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.”
Aldean added: “‘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. 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 a day without a headline that keeps us up at night. But the desire for it to—that’s what this song is about.”