Fox News “Outnumbered” panel got awkward Wednesday after a guest generalized the black community and was called out by co-host Harris Faulkner.
The panel was discussing the backlash country music star Jason Aldean is facing over his new song, “Try That in a Small Town.” Critics have accused Aldean of being pro-lynching and racist. The lyrics condemn rising crime, flag burning, violent protests and suggest that type of behavior wouldn’t be condoned in rural towns the way it is in big cities.
Faulkner argued that the market would decide the fate of the song, condemning the possibility of censoring the song, which has climbed to the top of the charts since its release.
Fox News contributor Leslie Marshall then chimed in, saying that she didn’t understand the outcry but then did research and spoke to a friend. (RELATED: Jason And Brittany Aldean Are Totally Unapologetic Over Song Backlash, And We Love To See It)
“I wasn’t understanding, I did some research and the problem that the African American community, even one of my best friends, African-American who loves country music, I called her up and said ‘what’s up with this?’ She said in the video, the courthouse that he stands in front of in that town was used for lynchings, and so a lot of people felt offended or in bad taste,” Marshall said. “CMT isn’t gonna pull anything rap or hip-hop because it is not their world. The Dixie Chicks, they were cancelled not just by CMT but by the entire country music corporation and people because they spoke out against George Bush, this is not the first time this happened.”
Fox News contributor Douglas Murray then asked whether Marshall really believed Aldean knew the courthouse steps were used for lynching or rather if it was just a coincidence.
“I don’t know, it is not a good look,” Marshall said.
“The country is filled with sites you can look at negatively, some people do that to Mount Rushmore,” Murray said.
“As a white woman, I can’t speak to someone’s feelings,” Marshall said.
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That’s when Faulkner interjected to criticize Marshall’s generalization of the black community.
“Can I just say one thing and this is gonna come out of left field a bit, there is not one African American community. There are many communities of color, we come from all over the planet. We know genetically where we may have begun many, many, many, many years ago, but I don’t say one white community and there’s not just one black community,” Faulkner said.
“I didn’t mean it that way,” Marshall said.
“So your friends may not agree with me, and I may not agree with them, but it isn’t because we’re all black that we should agree,” Faulkner continued.
CMT pulled the music video from its network but did not provide a reason why. The decision occurred prior to liberal backlash.