(LifeSiteNews) — Conservative country music star Jason Aldean has faced intense backlash during the past two weeks for a music video featuring footage of Antifa and Black Lives Matter (BLM) violence.
After the revelation that Fox News demanded the video be cleared of its news coverage of a BLM riot, speculation of the outlet’s support of the radical movement is circulating, begging the question of whether endorsing BLM is Fox’s latest disappointment to conservatives.
On Wednesday, TMZ reported that Aldean’s music video for his song “Try That in a Small Town” had been edited to remove footage from Fox 5 Atlanta. TMZ, which is owned by Fox Corporation, explained that Aldean’s team “skirted the rules and used FOX footage without permission.”
The production team reportedly requested permission on May 8, to which Fox News asked for the lyrics of the song to be sent to them in writing. However, the team only sent a link to the song, which was released as a single in May without a visual component, and then included the footage without going through the proper channels of approval.
Unnamed “sources connected to the music video production” further explained that Fox responded last week with a “polite ultimatum,” requesting the video be edited or face legal action.
The original video included footage of a BLM riot screening against the courthouse behind Aldean. Above the band indicating the footage was from Fox and a headline that reads, “State of emergency declared in Georgia.” Active fires and police cars can be seen as well as explosions. Although similar acts are still portrayed in other footage, all clips from Fox have been removed.
The updated version also excludes a brief dialogue between a man in a wheelchair who tells a news anchor if “somebody needs some help, you’ll get it” in a small-town community. However, the reason for this and whether it was a live news clip or was written into the video as a theatrical component is unclear.
Conservative journalist Jack Posobiec quickly posted the unedited version of the music video on Twitter, encouraging supporters: “You know what to do.”
BREAKING: Here is the full UNEDITED version of the Jason Aldean video about the BLM-Antifa riots
You know what to do pic.twitter.com/eoF6JNQdQU
— Jack Poso 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) July 27, 2023
He also pointed out that “Jason Aldean broke a cardinal rule of the regime: You aren’t allowed to talk about the George Floyd riots and BLM violence. And you definitely aren’t allowed to make a popular song about them for the normies.”
One conservative Twitter account wrote that “a Fox station in Atlanta complained about the video using 6 seconds worth of their footage from the violent BLM riots” and wanted to know, “why are they trying to censor the TRUTH??”
JUST IN: Jason Aldean was FORCED to edit his “Try That in a Small Town” music video after a Fox station in Atlanta complained about the video using 6 seconds worth of their footage from the violent BLM riots.
Why are they trying to censor the TRUTH??https://t.co/q4rqFU6jH6
— Proud Elephant 🇺🇸🦅 (@ProudElephantUS) July 27, 2023
Many others on the platform shared similar sentiments, wondering why a copyright lawsuit would have been preferable for Fox instead of granting permission to use footage of a disturbing but factual event. Others have argued that the outlet is becoming the “new Bud Light,” as a once respected conservative organization that appears to be caving to left-wing ideologies.
The ‘new Bud Light’
Ironically, Fox News published an opinion piece on July 24 arguing that country music is being targeted by the left in ways not unlike Bud Light. Using Aldean as a primary example, author Dan Gainor argued that attacking country artists for their pro-American songs is grounds for another conservative-led boycott. Once undeniably conservative pieces of culture such as Bud Light and country music are being attacked by left-wing ideologies.
However, Gainor’s stance that country music is up for a boycott hasn’t gone over well with many readers. The article has made the rounds on Twitter this week and received a large number of comments that disagree with the idea of boycotting the genre. Instead, a general theme has emerged that argues Fox News or country music award organizations ought to be given the Bud Light treatment, as it is they who resist the messages being portrayed in the historically conservative genre.
While the beer brand betrayed its middle-class American consumer base by using a gender confused man as a marketing ploy that completely backfired, the Country Music Television (CMT) network has also begun caving to the liberal agenda.
During the 2023 CMT Awards in April, the group permitted Kelsea Ballerini to perform on stage with drag queens in an apparent attempt to protest the growing number of laws passed across the country to protect children from gender ideology. Less than three months later, CMT removed Aldean’s video of “Try That in a Small Town” due to the alleged endorsement of gun violence and lynching.
But it wasn’t just CMT that rushed to hide some of the truths being shared in the song. Contrary to Gainor’s suggestion that the Nashville country music scene is contributing to silencing pro-American voices in the genre, many readers instead proposed that Fox News, which some are referring to as “Faux News,” is secretly supporting another radical leftist movement, therefore gaining the nickname “new Bud Light.”
The outlet’s threat of lawsuits rather than allow BLM riot footage to be publicized is its latest act to raise suspicions of readers who previously accepted Fox as a conservative mainstream media outlet. In April, the corporation drew heavy backlash for cutting ties with conservative journalism star Tucker Carlson, whose work was distinguished from that of other cable news hosts by relentlessly highlighting Deep State corruption and the horrors of gender ideology.
Since then, Fox has been exposed for appearing to bow to left-wing ideologies while presenting a generally conservative front. Whistleblowers have revealed that the organization’s policies endorse so-called “gender transitions” and allow employees to use bathrooms of the opposite sex. Fox also sponsored LA Pride, which was involved in the award ceremony that honored the blasphemous Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence at Dodgers Stadium in June.
Daily Wire host Matt Walsh unveiled weeks later that the corporation promotes explicit LGBT propaganda materials to employees. Earlier this week, LifeSiteNews reported that Fox had quietly removed The Satanic Temple from its charitable donation matching program. Whistleblowers also revealed that Planned Parenthood, the Trevor Project and the Southern Poverty Law Center were listed as part of the program.
Though less obvious than some of its policies and actions, a decision to remove footage of a movement that literally set fire to the nation with no respect for law-and-order suggests further evidence that Fox is indeed caving to left-wing ideologies and abandoning its once respected standing as a conservative mainstream media outlet.