Jason Aldean's wife's Instagram account has about as much to do with country music as Dog The Bounty Hunter, which is absolutely nothing despite the weird and persistent obsession of the country media with these topics. And now, for the second time, blue-checked media types have so swirled themselves in their tight-knit echo chambers on Twitter that what Jason Aldean's wife has the boldness to post on her Instagram is so existential that the matter was deemed absolutely necessary.
People have so completely lost their minds on this subject, for the second time Saving Country Music is being attacked and specifically called on to remain silent on this supposedly outrageous matter. There are people who will never read this page again because of the cowardice and hypocrisy I have shown in marginalizing this extremely serious moment in country music history – the wife of a lame pop country writes about it -Stars. On Instagram.
Sorry if I try to think as little as possible about Jason Aldean or his wife or their Instagram account, let alone interact with them. And between me and Jason Aldean's camp, or especially his wife, no love is lost. I was up and down at Jason Aldeans Grill when he was caught cheating on his previous wife with then-Brittany Kerr in L.A. when they both declared it wasn't what it looked like (although they eventually got married). In fact, I was willing to put up with delving too deep into the gossip page of country to make a more important and underlying point about how pop country stars are misleadingly marketed.
Yours was really the one who sparked the spark behind the story of Jason Aldean, who wore a black face for Halloween in 2015 and eventually went viral.
For me, the absolute last thing you should consume is what Brittany Aldean says or sells on her fucking Instagram account. My advice? Do not fish in these filthy waters. This is my opinion. In fact, a good rule of thumb is to limit your social media presence entirely.
But without exaggeration, I'll raise my right hand and solemnly swear to take up arms for the right of Brittany Aldean or anyone else to post or say what they want on social media or any other kind of stupid, worthless shit. What I find even more obnoxious is that some are trying to cut off her lips, either by stinking so much that their social media activities are restricted by the Thought Police now running big tech or by sensational bullying that tries to to gently censor everyone from the exchange of views often committed by people so sick they can get angry about a country star's wife's Instagram account.
The controversy this time around seems to be Brittany Aldean posting photos of her children in anti-Biden clothing. Do I expressly agree to these opinions or platforms? Not really. But guess what, ladies and gentlemen, this is called Brittany Aldean who is exercising her 1st Amendment rights. And any attempt to stifle her is to pay greater attention to (what she has) and encourage her and her supporters to speak up and meddle even more (what they become). This is the inevitability of attempting to combat these culture war issues.
Seeing people speak out against our current president is the symptom of healthy democracy, just as it was when people spoke out against the previous president. The attempt, or success, to stifle such speech is a symptom of a failing democracy. And by the way, is claiming to be "anti-biden" really outside the mainstream idea? Most of the people I know on the left think Biden is a linguini-crazy and centrist corporatist with failing skills. His approval is less than 50%. Being anti-Biden is not really an "extremist" view.
Nonetheless, Rolling Stone published an article this week entitled "Jason Aldean Announces New Album, Woman Promotes Anti-Biden Apparel Line," which breathlessly denounced Brittany Aldean's scandalous behavior on social media. Talk about a non-sequitur. You have to love how many of these outlets practically never say anything negative about someone else's music. But when their political views don't match theirs, it's open season.
Then, of course, Fox News and other right-wing media join the riot, feverishly coming on the defense and promoting Brittany Aldean's Instagram posts as if they were newsworthy in some way. And ultimately, this cycle is just drawing a huge amount of attention to that one Instagram account that is actively trying to promote a clothing line. Controversy is exactly what Brittany Aldean and the clothing maker wanted. And both sides played ball perfectly while so angry and entangled in their own tunnels of reality that they couldn't see themselves unknowingly being pawns in a moneymaker. It is the Streisand Effect in full force. Brittany Aldean just monetized your anger.
But the deeper question is, why were so many critics in the country music media so angry about this topic in the first place? The answer is because so many of the people lined up as "journalists" in country music today are nothing more than political apparatchiks and activists who have embedded themselves in the country community to try rural America to realign politically. Most don't care about real country music. They were indoctrinated as foot soldiers in college, and now it's just a way to make social change happen.
They hope to achieve this by getting country stars to speak out on certain political issues. If these artists (or apparently their spouses) actually speak out in favor of the opposing viewpoints these politically motivated media members hold, it will be a harrowing “hands on deck” moment, red alert. Jason Aldean's wife's Instagram account must be denounced will! We saw the same hyper-overreaction when Carrie Underwood had the boldness to like a tweet.
Look, everyone has the right to a political opinion and to share it if they want to. It's the sneaky and weird way they try to cover country music to advance a troubled agenda, as if it were from the right, which it certainly was in earlier eras (see: Dixie Chicks). But the example of the Dixie Chicks is a perfect example to illustrate why these efforts by some to realign rural America have been and will remain completely ineffective.
As country fans have proven time and again, they will distance themselves from their favorite country artists because of their political beliefs before moving away from their political beliefs in order to please their favorite country artists. This media strategy of reshaping the American electorate through country music has long proven ineffective and only extends the culture war to the music space that is supposed to be reserved for both sides to come together and enjoy.
These agents are also doing whatever they can to denounce all of country music as racist, bigoted, etc. And in the vacuum of any significant evidence, in the modern context (and many counterpoints that undermine this opinion as well), they are resorting to things so insubstantial like returning a cast member's wife's Instagram account to make those claims. Because of this, they continue to obsessively focus on Brittany Aldean, well beyond her influence in the country music genre – regardless of her reputation as a model (or whatever she does). Although I have to say that Brittany Aldean's reputation and notoriety keep increasing with each new attack. Much like Morgan Wallen, the media makes her a heroine and martyr.
And yes, there is a lot of flaming hypocrisy from people yelling at Jason Isbell and Maren Morris to "shut up and sing!" who now come to the defense of Brittany Aldean. But there is just as much hypocrisy from the people who have kept saying that country stars have to speak up politically. Now guess what, as I warned you, if they actually speak up, they may not be endorsing the things you hope they are doing.
But beyond that, who really cares? Go and listen to music that you enjoy. I'm shooting the new Shelby Lee Lowe album, which is pretty badass. Look, it's sunny outside (maybe)! Go out and smell the roses. Fuck that stupid shit. Life is way too short, man. Jason Aldean's wife's Instagram account? Is that why you are going to worry about the limited time you have on this planet? The joke is on her for buying into the systemic ramifications of American culture. Don't let the joke affect you too.
… I hope, however, that the guy from Dog The Bounty Hunter catches the guy who killed Gabby Petito.
