Country music singer Jason Aldeon is facing an intense wave of backlash after his song, “Try That In A Small Town”, went viral online, prompting many people to accuse him of dog-whistle racism. The song sets footage of Black Lives Matter protests alongside lyrics like: “Try that in a small town / See how far ya make it down the road / Around here, we take care of our own.” The song continues: “Cuss out a cop, spit in his face / Stomp on the flag and light it up / Yeah, ya think you’re tough.” Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter The BLM protests were a direct reaction to the murder of African-American man George Floyd by a white police officer. The clips in the music video, which also include an attempted convenience store robbery and other apparent crimes, alternate with shots of Aldean and his band performing in the public square of Columbia, Tennessee. To make things worse, the video is shot in front of the Maury County Courthouse, which at times appears to be on fire with images of burning US flags projected onto it. It’s the same building where a mob hanged 18-year-old African-American Henry Choate from the balcony in 1927. Columbia is also the site of an infamous 1946 race riot that nearly resulted in the lynching of future Supreme Court justice Thurgood Marshall. Another lyric goes: “Got a gun that my granddad gave me / They say one day they’re gonna round up / Well that s--- might fly in the city / Good luck.” Country Music Television (CMT) confirmed Tuesday that it had pulled the video from rotation. Social media has been ablaze with the controversy for much of the last week. Democrat state representative for Tenessee, Justin Jones, called the song "heinous", and a "shameful vision of gun extremism and vigilantism". One user said that if Lil Durk, a black American rapper, made a response to Aldean's video called "Try That On The South Side of Chicago", it would likely be denounced as violent. Others shared videos explaining exactly why people are interpreting the song as dog-whistle racism. Aldean has stood by the song, saying: “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.” Needless to say, the people defending him are all the ones you might expect. Top Republicans have jumped to Aldean’s aid, including former president Donald Trump and Florida governor Ron DeSantis. “Jason Aldean is a fantastic guy who just came out with a great new song. Support Jason all the way. MAGA!!!” Trump posted on his Truth Social account. The conservative influencer Ben Shapiro posted a video to his YouTube channel titled “Jason Aldean REFUSES To Get Cancelled”, in which he discusses the controversy and takes Aldean’s side. Most recently, Aldean has been filmed at a concert over the weekend defending the song further. He said: “What I am is a proud American.” “I love our country. I want to see it restored to what it once was before all this bulls*** 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.” Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

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Hawaiian native Nicole Scherzinger has been accused of ignoring the plight of her homeland by posting a swimsuit photoshoot on Instagram amid wildfires in Hawaii. The Maui fires have ravaged 850 hectares of land and is now the deadliest bushfire in US history. Hawaii Governor Josh Green yesterday confirmed that 93 people had been killed by the raging fires that started on 8 August. Six fires are still currently burning through the Hawaiian coast, with the Lahaina fire now under 85 per cent containment. Officials have warned that the death toll will likely rise once again when interior searches of around 1000 torched buildings take place. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Some 2200 buildings and structures have been burnt to the ground. About 46,000 residents and visitors have flown out of Kahului Airport in West Maui, according to the Hawaii Tourism Authority. With that in mind, when the former Pussycat Dolls singer posted images of herself in a swimsuit online, people thought she was being insensitive. Comments have since been turned off and deleted on the post, but before they were, one person reportedly commented on Scherzinger’s pics, “Maui on fire but you out here half naked in your glamorous life … OK”. Another added, “I just think it’s a bit insensitive bearing in mind what’s happening in (Hawaii)”. Another agreed, “Time to stop and support Hawaii, show us your doing something instead of posting pictures in bikini”. However, in fairness to Scherzinger her previous Instagram post was for a fundraiser for Maui and she has since followed it up with a video pleading with those to do what they can. She has also used her Instagram Stories to promote causes helping those in need on Maui. The cause of the wildfires is under investigation but it hasn't stopped conspiracy theorists spreading claims they were started by a 'space laser beam.' Celebrities should really think before they post. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.