There’s another controversy over a country music hit, but this time it is more conservative listeners who are upset with a music video that depicts two men in love.
The controversy over country music star Tyler Childers and the music video for his new song “In Your Love” follows closely on protests about Jason Aldean’s song “Try That in a Small Town,” which has been called racist.
Childers’ music video tells the story of two coal miners who fall in love but face criticism because they both are men. Despite discrimination, the men remain together until one falls sick and dies in his lover’s arms on the porch of their home.
With more than 2.4 million views and 65 thousand likes on YouTube — both numbers that continue to climb — the music video continues to grow in popularity and has gone viral across social media platforms like TikTok and Twitter, where social media users have mixed (and strong) feelings.
“Many listeners envisioned a heterosexual couple being the focus of the narrative.”
One spark in this controversy is that listeners, having heard audio of the song originally, were shocked that what they imagined happening in the same is not what the artist imagined happening.
‘We lost Tyler’
Having heard the song prior to the music video’s release, many listeners envisioned a heterosexual couple being the focus of the narrative, even thinking of their own relationships. Thus, they were upset to see a gay couple representing the lyrics they previously enjoyed.
In response, fans are expressing what seems like stages of grief, such as one TikTok user who created a dramatically sad video of his truck in the sunset with the caption, “Can’t believe we lost Tyler.” Other listeners expressed anger, such as one TikTok user who burned a Tyler Childers T-shirt in a video with the song playing in the background.
Others said they were just confused and were attempting to understand why Childers would make a video like that. Although some admitted the song is catchy, they were sure to proclaim disappointment in the video’s message.
One user named Josh, on an account he shares with his wife, Michelle, said although he enjoyed the song, it was difficult to reconcile the music video’s message with his personal beliefs, which are not supportive of LGBTQ lifestyles.
He said: “Why’d you do it man? Dang, great song you just put out. The video … It’s rough. And I don’t know if you’re just pandering to try to normalize this crap or what, then make me the bad guy for not liking it. You know, disapproving of it. But that’s what I am, I reckon. The bad guy, ’cause I don’t approve.”
Tyler Childers
Serving two masters?
While Josh faced counter-argumentation from pro-LGBTQ TikTok users, he is far from the only one struggling. Others joined him in saying they believe gay love stories should not be normalized.
One Twitter user professed her confusion by declaring, “You can’t serve two masters!” This fan enjoyed Childers’ 2022 album called “Can I Take My Hounds to Heaven?” which featured remixed gospel music but now is confused about the singer’s transition between religious allegiance and social justice.
But are these two things mutually exclusive?
Other social media users are engaging in discussions about what it means to model God’s love and whether enjoying the music video leaves room for listeners to “love the sinner but hate the sin.”
While Childers has talked openly before about his Baptist background, he does not claim to be an explicitly “Christian” artist.
While Childers has talked openly before about his Baptist background, he does not claim to be an explicitly “Christian” artist.
In a recent interview with NPR about this new song, Childers explained how his faith and support for social justice efforts are intertwined, sharing that a close cousin of his is gay, and he hopes to offer a space in country music representative of his experience.
This love story should not take away from the meaningful biblical allusions found throughout Childers’s discography, he said. “All of that is part of me, and it all ties together.”
‘Outlaw country at its best’
Part of the disconnect seems to be reconciling the message of the video with the kind of music Childers claims to make.
One TikTok user commented, “Nothing says Outlaw Country like two gay coal miners.”
And although this fan understands what Childers is going for with the video, he thinks it unwise to divide an audience like this new music video seems to be doing. He concludes by telling Childers, “You didn’t have to go cram it down our throat like that.”
However, in response to comments like this one, many other fans are pointing out that listeners are free to enjoy the song without watching the video. Nobody is forcing them to watch the 5-minute love story unfold.
And other fans are noting Childers’s passion for meaningful topics is not new, such as this Twitter user who explains that true listeners of Childers music would know “his entire discography is based on social justice, religious acceptance and equality and respect for women.”
In fact, Childers has publicly discussed his support for the Black Lives Matter movement as a Southern artist. And as many fans are now pointing out, many of the lyrics within his songs resist social norms and call out injustice, including those in a September 2020 song called “Long Violent History.”
“Y’all are trying to cancel my boy Tyler Childers?” exclaims Trystan Fossett in a TikTok response. He calls opponents of the music video a bunch of “sissies,” explaining they are “not comfortable enough in (their) own sexuality to be OK with people loving whoever … they want to love.”
He believes Childers is a “true outlaw” in country music because he does not care about what people think of him or of his music video. He’s going to write, record and produce what he wants, even if the message challenges the biases and beliefs of some listeners or causes fans to stop listening to his songs.
Reaching a minority audience
If Country Outlaw seems like an unheard-of genre for some routine music listeners, this new music video is spreading the genre to an even more diverse audience.
Author and podcaster Don Martin, in an emotional reflection on the new music video, told his audience, “This is what allyship looks like.”
In the wake of Jason Aldean’s recent song on sundown towns, Martin applauds Childers for putting out such a contrasting piece.
“This is using your power and your privilege and your position and your career to take a stand,” Martin says. “To use the microphone that’s in your hand and the cameras that are already pointed at you, and actually say something real. To put your skin in the game.”
Thankful to feel represented in this unexpected genre, Martin holds back tears as he explains, “I could have really used this when I was a kid but I’m really glad it’s there now.”
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