The country singer defended his song — which contains often violent news footage and provocative lyrics — in a statement he shared on his Instagram Stories, saying the references people have made are “not only meritless, but dangerous.”

“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,” he wrote in his statement.

“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 — and while I can try and respect others to have their own interpretation of a song with music, this one goes too far,” Aldean continued.

[The supposed controversy over this is ridiculous. CMT caved to the idiots in this case, which Cam Edwards and I discussed at length in our VIP Gold chat today. — Ed]