Destinee Stark, an activist and TikTok creator, has been calling out country star Jason Aldean on TikTok.
Stark said Aldean employed 'racist dog whistles' and misleading imagery in his music video for 'Try That In A Small Town.'
She's since been inundated with death threats, she told Insider – but bolstered by some support.
It all started last week when Stark noted in a series of TikToks that protest footage from the music video actually comprised clips from rallies that occurred outside of the United States. There were clips from Germany and Ukraine, Stark claimed. She told Insider over the weekend that "disinformation and propaganda are really dangerous."
"Cuss out a cop, spit in his face," reads one lyric from the song. "Stomp on the flag and light it up. Yeah, you think you're tough. Well, try that in a small town."
"Using such extreme footage from other countries for this music video pushes the narrative that protestors are violent rioters whom small towns should fear and take up arms against," Stark said. "It's a very dangerous message that is emboldening people all around the country to take part in vigilantism."
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.…
— Jason Aldean (@Jason_Aldean) July 18, 2023
But after noting the discrepancies on TikTok, as well as pointing out lyrics in the song she felt were evocative of sundown towns and lynch mobs, the Ohio-based TikToker said she's since been besieged by backlash.
The hate comments has gone beyond "reasonably harsh criticism," she said, "and into the dark realm of death threats, death wishes, threats of violence, and just the most degrading, vile comments" she's ever received.
Stark told Insider that while her activism has previously garnered criticism, she's never experienced anything to this extent before. At the same time, she noted that there has been positive feedback from "hundreds" of supportive commenters.
The music video for "Try That In A Small Town," which sees Aldean performing in front of a Tennessee courthouse that was also the site of a lynching in 1927, was pulled from rotation by CMT earlier this month.
That said, it has 19 million views on YouTube and debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, with the biggest sales this week for a country song in over a decade, Billboard reported. Aldean has also received support from conservative politicians like former President Trump, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and Colorado Representative Lauren Boebert.
The country artist vehemently denies he's used inauthentic footage — or that his song and video are about civil disobedience.
"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," Aldean wrote in a lengthy statement on Twitter on July 18. "'Try That In A Small Town,' for me, refers to the feeling of a community that I had growing up, where we took care of our neighbors, regardless of differences of background or belief."
The Washington Post reported on Tuesday that images of a Black Lives Matter demonstration in Atlanta had been deleted from the music video, which is now six seconds shorter than the version that was uploaded on July 14.
Clips of a man in a baseball cap and sunglasses looking into the sun and of an older man in a wheelchair speaking about small-town values have also been removed, according to the Post.
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