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On July 23, a news outlet named Esspots reported that CMT (Country Music Television) removed country singer Jason Aldean’s latest controversial song, Try That In a Small Town, from rotation on its channel on July 18, only four days after its release. It further reported that following this, CMT suffered a $200 billion loss in revenues, that too in a span of a single day.
However, the claim has turned out to be fake. While CMT did pull the music video, there is no evidence of the company losing $200 billion. In fact, all other media outlets including NBC, CBS News, and USA Today reported that CMT took down the music video in the wake of a nationwide scandal that called on Aldean’s latest hit number for having alleged racist and pro-lynching undertones.
None of the aforementioned news outlets mentioned anything about the money loss.
The month-old article from Esspots recently resurfaced on the internet after Jason Aldean addressed the controversy while performing at the Iowa State Fair on August 20, Sunday. He began by saying how people must have seen him on the news recently and then continued by saying:
"In this day and age, man, every time you do something the public or the media doesn't agree with or one certain side of the public doesn't agree with, they want to cancel everybody…Well, you can't do anything these days without offending somebody. That's just the way it is."
He also expressed how disappointed he was when he found out that CMT pulled his Try That In A Small Town music video, but he too did not mention anything about his or the company’s loss of profits.
CMT did not incur a $200 billion revenue loss for removing Jason Aldean’s controversial song from rotation
In the Esspots article that falsely claimed that CMT incurred a $200 billion loss overnight following its removal of Jason Aldean’s Try That In A Small Town, there is also a mention of how the shortfall was similar to the ones that happen in Wall Street.
Not only that but the website known for its satire/parody content also highlighted the fact that $200 billion is enough money to buy all their readers tickets to the Grand Ole Opry and still have enough left to make cowboy boots for everybody on the planet.
The unreliable article also mentioned how removing Try That In A Small Town from CMT's rotation was the company’s way of “playing it safe” and “sidestepping the controversy.”
While the article mentioned no source behind their bombshell report, it did clarify that the couple hundred-billion-dollar loss was a direct slap from country music fans who decided to stand “by their man Aldean.” Here’s a direct quote from the Esspots article:
“It’s a stark reminder that when it comes to country music, it’s more than just catchy tunes and twangy guitars. It’s about loyalty, community, and standing up for what you believe in – whether it’s on a small-town main street or in the high-stakes world of television broadcasting.”
While it is true that CMT took down the music video from rotation on its channel, in response to an outcry over its controversial setting and lyrics, there have been no records so far about the company losing any money for the move, let alone a whopping $200 billion.
However, what’s interesting is that CMT’s boycott of Jason Aldean's music video had other repercussions, if not a financial one. As soon as the company confirmed on July 18 that it had taken down Try That In A Small Town from its channel rotation, country music fans sided with the singer and in turn called for the boycott of CMT, even comparing it to Bud Light, the beer brand which faced boycott following its collaboration with a trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney for its campaign.
In fact, earlier this month, Newsweek commissioned a poll asking people whether CMT made the right decision pulling the Aldean music video. Nearly 52 percent of the voters disagreed with CMT’s decision, while 33 percent agreed. The rest 15 percent stayed neutral.
In brief, looking at the Try That In A Small Town controversy
Country singer Jason Aldean’s song Try That In A Small Town originally came out in May 2023. However, it caught heat on July 14, as soon as its music video was released by CMT. The music video came under fire because of its alleged racist and violent lyrics.
Not only that, netizens figured out that the video was shot at a historic lynching site, aka, the Maury County Courthouse in Columbia, Tennessee. It was there where in 1927 an 18-year-old Black guy named Henry Choate lost his life due to mob lynching and later in 1946 it was also the site of the Columbia Race Riot.
The music video also contained news clippings of several violent protests in the background, which was another reason why many social media users found it problematic. Here are some of the lyrics of the song that people found controversial and offensive:
“C*ss out a cop, spit in his face/Stomp on the flag and light it up/Yeah, ya think you’re tough/Yeah, try that in a small town.”
Jason Aldean faced severe online backlash following the debut of the music video with people accusing him of filming at a known lynching site and also writing racist, violent, and pro-lynching lyrics.
In its aftermath, Country Music Television pulled the video from its channel’s rotation which prompted the singer to take to Twitter (now X) to openly deny all allegations against him. He even dismissed all claims that the song’s lyrics were racist or pro-lynching or that it could promote violence.
