The "Motor City Madman" Ted Nugent is the latest star to weigh in on Jason Aldean's controversial hit "Try That In A Small Town," blasting "idiots" who hate the song in an interview Saturday.
"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," he told Fox News' Jimmy Failla.
"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.
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"These are just weird people. We dismiss them because they've gotten out of hand because they've got no soul. I laugh in their face," he added.
The rock legend is no stranger to controversy himself, going up against liberals for years over hot button issues like Second Amendment rights and freedom of speech. He has been branded an "extremist" for his views.
It's a badge he appears to wear with pride, albeit sarcastically, telling Failla he stands for "truth, logic and common sense" in the face of the cancel culture mob.
"I've always stood up radically – really extremist – for God, family, country, Constitution, Bill of Rights, Ten Commandments, golden rule, work ethic, law and order, all that really radical stuff, and that represents the heart and soul of the best, most passionate, most cocky, most fun people in the world," he said.
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Aldean has been criticized for his beliefs in the past as well, but remains unapologetic.
After Country Music Television (CMT) pulled his song from circulation and a slew of critics attacked the singer for the allegedly "pro-lynching song," it skyrocketed to number one on the charts and garnered support from others – including Nugent – who argue the song is about self-defense.
Fans are staying in the singer's corner, calling for a boycott of CMT for pulling the song from its network. Social media has become a battleground over the issue as people took to Twitter to defend – or criticize – Aldean.
"The reach of social media gets to good people all over the world, and all the good people in the world are saying what the Nugent family says: ‘Go, Jason, go… we salute you, and we stand with you,’" Nugent said.
Also in Aldean's corner are the likes of country music stars Lee Greenwood and Travis Tritt, GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, former President Donald Trump, Arkansas Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, R., who said the singer has "nothing to apologize for."
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Among his critics are Tennessee state Rep. Justin Jones, D., according to Forbes, comedian Andy Richter and singer Sheryl Crow, who blasted Aldean's song as "lame" and said it promoted "violence."
The video shows footage from the 2020 riots following the death of George Floyd to illustrate Aldean's message, which garnered criticism from those who allege the implications are inflammatory.
Amid backlash, Aldean told followers on social media: "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."
