*John Legend and Kelly Clarkson have kicked off the Christmas spirit with their rendition of “Baby, It’s Cold Outside.”
The Oscar-winning holiday classic was written in 1944 by Frank Loesser but was banned last year from some radio stations after its lyrics were deemed “no longer appropriate.”
As noted by the New York Times, the song features a male voice urging his female date to stick around and get “closer” despite her protests that she “really can’t stay.” While she sings “I ought to say no, no, no,” he responds, “What’s the sense in hurting my pride?”
Legend team up with “Insecure” actress/writer Natasha Rothwell to tweak the lyrics, making the woman less passive and giving her more control in the situation. Apparently, some folks believe the original song promotes rape.
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If you had a song with @kellyclarkson you’d want to promote your Christmas album in October too! Signed copies of the deluxe edition of #ALegendaryChristmas are available for pre-order now! https://t.co/wVDuOWgii6 pic.twitter.com/NWLWUfWhFS
— John Legend (@johnlegend) October 28, 2019
Legend and Clarkson’s rendition will appear on John’s forthcoming Christmas album, “A Legendary Christmas: The Deluxe Edition.”
According to the report, the lyrics to the song now includes: “I really can’t stay (Baby it’s cold outside)/ I’ve gotta go away (I can call you a ride)/ This evening has been (so glad that you dropped in)/ So very nice (time spent with you is paradise)/ My mother will start to worry (I’ll call a car and tell ‘em to hurry).”
When Clarkson, who provides vocals for the female role, asks in the song what her friends will think if she stays for another drink, Legend responds, “It’s your body, and your choice.”
As you can imagine, the PC fanatics are thrilled with the revamped others… others are not here for it. Peep some reactions to the Legend/Clarkson collab below:
Holiday songs aren’t sacred, and “Baby It’s Cold Outside” isn’t worth the time we put into criticizing or revising it.
— Beth of the Elder Ones (@BethElderkin) October 28, 2019
I thought nothing could be worse than the annual Baby It’s Cold Outsode Is Problematic discourse, but then I read the lyrics to John Legend’s Baby It’s Cold Outside remix https://t.co/ymgNIlSEMN pic.twitter.com/94q4eIWLu8
— Tom Gara (@tomgara) October 29, 2019
If you had a song with @kellyclarkson you’d want to promote your Christmas album in October too! Signed copies of the deluxe edition of #ALegendaryChristmas are available for pre-order now! https://t.co/wVDuOWgii6 pic.twitter.com/NWLWUfWhFS
— John Legend (@johnlegend) October 28, 2019
Gayle King admitted Tuesday on CBS This Morning that the new lyrics make her “gnash my teeth to powder.”
“That was just a flirtatious, fun song on both sides,” she continued. “You have to look at the intent of the song back then. They’re flirting with each other, he doesn’t want her to go, she kinda doesn’t want to go and it’s just a fun song. But good on John Legend and Kelly Clarkson.”
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