Ted Nugent Defends Jason Aldean Over Song Controversy: ‘A Bunch of Idiots out There’

Jason Aldean performs at the 2023 ACM Lifting Lives Topgolf Tee-Off And Rock On Fundraiser at Topgolf in The Colony, Texas, on May 10, 2023. Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images

Rock ’n’ roll legend Ted Nugent over the weekend weighed in on the outrage over country singer Jason Aldean’s new song, “Try That in a Small Town,” saying that many of those who take issue with the song’s message are “idiots.”

“Try That in a Small Town” was released in May, with a music video for the song dropping on CMT on July 14.

The country music cable channel pulled the video from its programming on July 17 in response to a social media outcry accusing the country megastar of promoting “gun violence” with his new hit.

The lyrics of the song describe acts of violence that are becoming commonplace in big cities—such as assaulting pedestrians and carjacking elderly drivers—daring the “tough” perpetrators to bring that behavior to a small town, where people are willing to use firearms to defend their community.

“Try that in a small town,” Mr. Aldean sings. “See how far you make it down the road. ... Around here, we take care of our own. ... You cross that line, it won’t take long ... for you to find out, I recommend you don’t.”

The song’s critics interpreted it as “pro-lynching” because the video shows the singer performing in front of a Tennessee courthouse where a black teenager was lynched a century ago. They also took issue with the video’s use of actual footage of from the riots following the death of George Floyd in 2020.

Song About Self Defense

Mr. Nugent, known for being outspoken about his conservative views, is one of the musicians who jumped to Mr. Aldean’s defense.

The song isn’t promoting so-called “gun violence,” Mr. Nugent argued, adding that it actually delivers a message against violence.

“I know there’s a bunch of idiots out there, but you need to learn to get a kick out of the idiots. The idiots hate this Jason Aldean song because they hate when we push back against violence,” Mr. Nugent said during an interview on Fox News on Saturday.

“They always get it 180 degrees wrong. This song is against violence. The song is about self-defense. The song is about protecting your loved ones in your neighborhood. If you find fault with a song that celebrates protecting your loved ones, your neighborhood, you might be going down to Target to the Satan display and get down on your knees,” he said.

“These are just weird people. We dismiss them because they’ve gotten out of hand because they’ve got no soul,” he added. “I laugh in their face.”

In his own message to fans, Mr. Aldean said that there’s nothing in the lyrics that has anything to do with race, and that labeling the song as “pro-lynching” is “not only meritless, but dangerous.”

“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,” he wrote on Twitter. “While I can try and respect others to have their own interpretation of a song with music, this one goes too far.”

He also rejected the claim that he is promoting “gun violence,” emphasizing that he was at ground zero of the 2017 Las Vegas massacre.

On the night of Oct, 1, 2017, a gunman fired down from his 32nd floor hotel room onto a crowd of thousands of country music fans attending the Route 91 Harvest Festival, killing 58 people and injuring over 500 more while Mr. Aldean was on stage.

“As so many pointed out, I was present at Route 91—where so many lost their lives—and our community recently suffered another heartbreaking tragedy,” he wrote on Twitter. “NO ONE, including me, wants to continue to see senseless headlines or families ripped apart.”

Desire for Community

What the song actually expresses is the “feeling of a community” where neighbors watch out for each other “regardless of differences of background or belief,” the country star said. “Because they were our neighbors, and that was above any differences.”

“My political views have never been something I’ve hidden from, and I know that a lot of us in this Country don’t agree on how we get back to a sense of normalcy where we go at least a day without a headline that keeps us up at night,” he continued. “But the desire for it to—that’s what this song is about.”

Several Republicans seeking the 2024 presidential nomination have spoken in support of Mr. Aldean.

Biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley both played “Try That in a Small Town” at recent campaign events. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis similarly pledged to “use it the next time,” calling the backlash against the singer “ridiculous.”

Former President Donald Trump praised the country singer on his Truth Social platform: “Jason Aldean is a fantastic guy who just came out with a great new song. Support Jason all the way. MAGA!!!”