Country music star Cody Johnson paused in the middle of a recent concert to tout his patriotism and show support for fellow country music star Jason Aldean.
In a video shared by journalist Benny Johnson on Twitter, Cody Johnson can be seen stopping in the middle of a show to address the crowd with what Benny Johnson described as “patriotic truth nukes” about the United States.
“Do you still believe that this is the greatest country in the world?” Cody Johnson asked the crowd on concert attendees. “Good, so do I. Do you still believe that God can bless America? Good, so do I. Then if you still believe in American patriotism, I want them to hear you all the way from Alabama down in Texas.”
Discussing the recent controversy of fellow country music star Jason Aldean’s “Try That in a Small Town,” Johnson explained that patriotism was the reason people were offended by Aldean’s lyrics and music video.
“That’s what everybody just got pissed off at Jason Aldean for on the internet, was patriotism,” the country music star said. “I’m gonna stand up here in front of all of you and I’m gonna say ‘Jason, I believe in one of them little small towns too. They better not come try that where I’m at.”
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Johnson urged the crowd to “stop watching the news because it’s a bunch of lies.” Before offering a way to “fix” all of rioting problems discussed in Aldean’s recent song, Johnson told the crowd that the reason he could say things that some people might not like is because “this is my microphone… I’ll say what I want to.”
Suggesting an alternative way of responding to disagreements in America, Johnson told his fans, “The next time you have an argument with somebody in this country about race, religion, or gender, any of that stuff that they try to feed you, I want you to do this for me, this might fix it, love them anyway.”
While Johnson acknowledged that his comments might be difficult for some people to accept, he urged his fans to “love your fellow American anyway” since “before most of you were born, an American soldier gave their life for you to have the right to disagree in the first place.”
