‘Baby, It’s Cold Outside’ Gets #MeToo Era Update

For his new seasonal album, John Legend teamed with Kelly Clarkson for an updated version of the 'Baby, It's Cold Outside, the 75-year-old standard, removing some lyrics that have gotten harder for some to stomach in the #MeToo era, reports The NYTimes.

The song, a duet in which the man tries to persuade the woman to stay at his place, using the weather as a pretext, was written by Frank Loesser in 1944 and has been sung by many pairs over the decades.

“I ought to say no, no, no, sir,” the woman sings in the original lyrics. The man asks to move in closer. “My sister will be suspicious,” she sings. “Gosh, your lips look delicious,” he answers. “Say, what’s in this drink?” she wonders aloud.

To many modern ears, those lyrics, which also have the woman telling the man she needs to leave about 10 times, have been interpreted as a lead-up to date rape, possibly aided by drug-spiked booze.


In the reimagined version, Clarkson sings “I’ve got to go away,” to which Legend responds, “I can call you a ride.”

The new lyrics were written by Legend and the comedian Natasha Rothwell of the HBO series “Insecure.” The album, “A Legendary Christmas: The Deluxe Edition,” will be released on Nov. 8 by Columbia Records.

Last year, the debate over the tune reached a breaking point — arguments erupted on social media, and Fox News and CNN held multiple panels — while several radio stations pulled the song from the air.

To defenders of the original lyrics, the debate was a prime example of political correctness and revisionism gone amok. A San Francisco station that dropped the song reversed course after determining that most listeners wanted the song in rotation.