Jason Aldean’s new music video has a surprising Canadian connection.
Last Friday, the country singer released the music video for his controversial song “Try That In A Small Town”, featuring footage of protests, including one in Toronto.
READ MORE: Sheryl Crow Calls Out Jason Aldean Over Controversial New Song: ‘Small Towns Are Sick Of Violence’
The song and video earned major blowback over its lyrics and imagery, which some have accused of threatening violence against Black Lives Matter protesters, people burning the American flag and more.
“Got a gun that my granddad gave me/They say one day they’re gonna round up/Well, that s**t might fly in the city, good luck,” Aldean sings at one point. “Try that in a small town/See how far ya make it down the road.”
And while the video features clips from footage of intense protests against and rioting during the 2020 BLM protests, eagle-eyed viewers noticed one piece of footage that dates back a fair bit earlier.
The footage in question, of a burning police car, is actually from Toronto’s Queen St. West in 2010, during the G20 protests, in which protesters clashed with police over the global summit being held in the city that year.
Fans have been quick to call Aldean out on the use of the decade-old Canadian footage in the video.
Toronto is suddenly part of the US according to this Jason Aldean guy. https://t.co/RifuZBKYRh
— Laura
(@__likeknives) July 20, 2023
In your video you have a Toronto Cop car on fire, Toronto is not a small town jackass.
— Peter Pyper (@RBabin1977) July 20, 2023
@Jason_Aldean why are you using video of a Toronto police car being vandalized in your video trying to pass it off as a USA police car? @CMT @InsideEdition pic.twitter.com/OaPRtdhPG8
— Walter (@OverParr43) July 19, 2023
Aldean’s video, which features him performing in front of a Tennessee courthouse that was the site of the lynching of an 18-year-old Black man named Henry Choate in 1927, earned backlash from many corners and was pulled from the air by CMT.
Singer Sheryl Crow called Aldean out on Twitter, writing, “There’s nothing small-town or American about promoting violence. You should know that better than anyone having survived a mass shooting.”
.@Jason_Aldean I’m from a small town. 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 https://t.co/cuOtUO9xjr
— Sheryl Crow (@SherylCrow) July 19, 2023
READ MORE: CMA Fest To Air Jason Aldean’s ‘Try That In A Small Town’ Performance But Not Music Video
In 2017, Aldean was performing onstage at the Route 91 Harvest music festival in Las Vegas when a gunman opened fire from a a nearby hotel, killing 60 and injuring hundreds.
Defending his new song, Aldean said in a statement, “NO ONE, including me, wants to continue to see senseless headlines or families ripped apart. ‘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.”
