Jason Aldean's wife defends country singer telling him to 'never apologize for the truth'
Ben Thompson
Featured Image Credit: Christopher Polk/Penske Media/Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic/Getty
Jason Aldean has drawn a lot of criticism for his new song, but his wife is backing him up.
The country singer's song Try That In A Small Town was pulled by Country Music Television after it sparked a fierce backlash.
The video was filmed at Maury County Courthouse in Columbia, Tennessee, where an 18-year-old black man was lynched.
In the video, there was also footage from news coverage of criminal behaviour, as Aldean sings about big city behaviour that wouldn't be well-received in a small town, like 'car-jacking an old lady', 'pull out a gun on the owner of a liquor store' and 'cussing out a cop'.
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After many accused him of releasing a 'pro-lynching' song, Aldean went on the defensive.
Taking to Twitter to respond to the accusations, Aldean said: "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.
"These references are not only meritless, but dangerous."
And now Aldean's wife Brittany Kerr has weighed in on the controversy - and it's safe to say that she's got her husband's back.
Taking to Instagram, the wife and mother wrote: "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."
She also shared a snap of her with her husband, captioned 'Never apologise for speaking the truth.'
Her defense came amid a tidal wave of condemnation from all corners.
Justin Jones, state Representative of Tennessee, described it as a 'heinous song calling for racist violence'.
And Mississippi Free Press news editor, Ashton Pittman, also referenced the decision to film at the courthouse, describing it as where a "white lynch mob strung Henry Choate up at the Maury County Courthouse in Columbia, Tenn., after dragging his body through the streets with a car in 1927."
"That's where Aldean chose to sing about murdering people who don't respect police," he said.
Over on The View, Sunny Hostin let rip with her condemnation of Aldean's music video.
The TV host said: "This man is from Macon, Georgia. My father is from Augusta, Georgia, and Macon, Georgia. I spent many summers there.
"It is one of the most racist places in this country.
"So don't tell me that he knew nothing about what that imagery meant, so I don't give him the benefit of the doubt."
Moderator Whoopi Goldberg also had a bone to pick with Aldean, as she said: "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?
"If we're talking about America that's taking care of each other then it shouldn't be about Black Lives Matter.
"You should be able to show all the different things that have gone on in our country where people stood up and said, no more. We do the same thing that small towns do. That's my two cents to that!"