A California radio station has decided to reverse its ban on the classic song “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” after many of their listeners expressed outrage over the ban.
“Baby, It’s Cold Outside” has become quite controversial in the era of #MeToo, with some claiming the song is politically incorrect and promotes a rape culture.
One specific line in the song — when the woman sings, “What’s in this drink?” — has especially outraged the politically correct crowd.
Brian Figula, the KOIT radio station program director, announced in a Monday public statement that his radio station initially had jumped on the bandwagon in turning against the song — but they have now reversed the ban because after polling listeners, they discovered people actually enjoy the tune.
Thousands of listeners weighed in; and over three quarters of them said they wanted to continue hearing the song.
The poll of listeners ultimately found “that the vast majority consider the song to be a valuable part of their holiday tradition, and they still want to hear it on the radio.”
“KOIT’s listeners have spoken, and the overwhelming message is they do want to hear ‘Baby, It’s Cold Outside’ on our station, as they have throughout the years,” said Figula.
He added, “More than seven out of every 10 listeners who responded said although some lyrics of the song may reflect a different era and a different sensibility than today, still they love the tradition and history of the song, and want to hear it as part of their holiday season.”
The radio station banned the 1944 tune from its playlist on December 3 after some listeners complained about the song and its lyrics.
Lyrics like “the answer is no” and “I’ve gotta get home” in the song are troublesome to the more politically correct crowd.
Others believe the tune is a relic of its time and exemplifies the playfulness and romantic flirtation between a man and a woman.
Frank Loesser wrote the song, and many artists over the years — including Dean Martin and Kelly Clarkson — have covered it.
A Cleveland radio station, WDOK, recently banned the song, too, and a Denver radio station, KOSI 101, reversed a ban on it after an outcry from listeners.
“Respondents voted 95 percent in favor of … keeping the song as part of KOSI 101.1’s tradition of playing all of your holiday favorites,” KOSI 101.1 program director, Jim Lawson said, according to Fox News.
Dean Martin’s daughter, Deana Martin, recently appeared on “Fox & Friends” and defended the song her father famously covered.
“I was absolutely flabbergasted,” she said of his recent attempts to ban “Baby, It’s Cold Outside.”
“It’s just insane. When I heard it, I said, ‘This can’t possibly be.’ You know, it’s a sweet, flirty, fun holiday song that’s been around for 40 years for my dad. He did it in ’59. But when I saw it, I tweeted, ‘I think this is crazy. What do you think?’ And then all of a sudden, it went viral.”
She continued, “I know my dad would be going insane right now. He would say, ‘What’s the matter with you? Get over it. It’s just a fun song.’ ‘Cause he was so sweet anyway … He was a great guy. Fun guy. Nice. And he wouldn’t want to do anything offensive. That wasn’t Dean Martin. So this has just been outrageous.”
For more on controversy surrounding “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” check out the video below:
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