It’s being released next month.
Kelly Clarkson and John Legend have re-recorded a version of ‘Baby It’s Cold Outside’ for the #MeToo era.
The Christmas sing has been the subject of much critique for many years due to its blatant affiliation with rape culture, with many radio stations stopping it from being played in the lead up to the holiday season.
Much of the criticism was based around the line: “Say what’s in this drink? (No cabs to be had out there)”, which could be related to date rape.
Legend, who is releasing his new Christmas album entitled A Legendary Christmas: The Deluxe Edition later this year, said that he decided to re-record the 1944 song to be more time appropriate.
He told Vanity Fair that he and Natasha Rothwell re-wrote the song to include the following lines: “What will my friends think / I think they should rejoice / if I have one more drink? It’s your body, and your choice.”
The discussion around the song began when local radio station, Star 102 in Cleveland, Ohio, decided to remove the track from its playlists in the lead up the holiday season.
At the time, DJ Glenn Anderson wrote that although the track was written over half a century ago, the lyrics were “manipulative and wrong.”
“The world we live in is extra sensitive now, and people get easily offended, but in a world where #MeToo has finally given women the voice they deserve, the song has no place.”
Legend’s new album is released on November 8.
