Jason Aldean’s performance at CMT Music Awards after network dropped ‘Try That In A Small Town’ upsets some fans

Jason Aldean was on stage performing Sunday at the CMT Music Awards, and a couple of years ago that would not have been anything beyond normal.

But Aldean’s singing of “Let Your Boys Be Country,” came less than a year after CMT pulled his “Try That In A Small Town” from its airwaves amid the controversy that surrounded the song and the video that accompanied it.

Jason Aldean was on stage performing Sunday at the CMT Music Awards, and a couple of years ago that would not have been anything beyond normal.

But Aldean’s singing of “Let Your Boys Be Country,” came less than a year after CMT pulled his “Try That In A Small Town” from its airwaves amid the controversy that surrounded the song and the video that accompanied it.

“Ironic (Jason Aldean) performs despite the (CMT) network banned a controversial video of his!” one account on X, formerly Twitter, posted.

“IDK what to do,” another person wrote on X. “We are boycotting CMT but now you are performing at the award show. Tell us all why you are performing for someone who behaved horribly to you and all of country music. Please.”

“Canceling yourself now?” another posted. “Couldn’t do it in a small town, so had to go back to CMT. We stood by you and now making all of us look like (sheep emoji), stay in the cities.”

While there were obviously some fans who couldn’t make his appearance make sense, there seemed to be plenty who enjoyed the performance as well.

Check the comments on the video of the performance that CMT posted, below, and there are many showing approval.

The “Try That In A Small Town” video, which has been called “pro-lynching” and racist, was removed by CMT from its rotation shortly after its release last year, and the network never said much about that.

The “Try That In A Small Town” video contains multiple clips of protesters clashing with police and welcomes folks who might “cuss out a cop” or “spit in his face” or “stomp on the flag and light it up” to “try that in a small town” and “see how far you make it down the road.”

Alden has also been accused of using pro-racist imagery on Tik Tok to promote the video.

The singer addressed it all at least several times over during concerts in the weeks that followed.

“I love our country,” he said. “I want to see it restored to what it once was before all of this (expletive) started happening to us. I love my country, I love my family and I will do anything to protect that, I can tell you that right now.”

The crowd ate it up and broke into a “USA” chant.

Aldean went on to blame the backlash on “cancel culture.”

“You guys know how it is this day and age, cancel culture is a thing,” he said. “That’s something that if people don’t like what you say, they try and make sure that they can cancel you which means try and ruin your life, ruin everything.

“One thing I saw this week was a bunch of country music fans that can see through a lot of the (expletive),” he continued. “I saw country music fans rally like I’ve never seen country music fans rally before and it was pretty bad ass to watch.”