Despite recent controversy, "Baby, It's Cold Outside" has returned to the airwaves on CBC Radio.
The classic call-and-response Christmas tune was pulled from Rogers Media, Bell and CBC earlier this month, following a review of the song's questionable lyrics. Lines like "What's in this drink?," "Baby, don't hold out" and "What's the sense in hurtin' my pride?" have been scrutinized in the wake of #MeToo.
But after a week without the song, CBC listeners have apparently demanded that it return to holiday playlists.
"Last week, we decided to press pause to consider the different points of view on playing 'Baby, It's Cold Outside,'" CBC's head of public affairs, Chuck Thompson, said in a statement. "Because we value our audience input, which was overwhelmingly to include the song, we have put it back on the two playlists where it had been removed. Appreciating not everyone interprets lyrics the same way, listeners may wish to skip the song as we understand not everyone will agree with this decision."
Cleveland radio station WDOK-FM was amongst the first to remove the song from the air back in November.
In Canada, Bell Media maintains that there are no plans to reintroduce "Baby, It's Cold Outside" in the future. Rogers did not provide an explanation for its decision to remove the song, but the company has not reversed its decision to pull the song either.
"Baby, It's Cold Outside" isn't the only Christmas song causing controversy this year; the Pogues' "Fairytale of New York" has faced similar criticism for its use of a homophobic slur in the lyrics.
The classic call-and-response Christmas tune was pulled from Rogers Media, Bell and CBC earlier this month, following a review of the song's questionable lyrics. Lines like "What's in this drink?," "Baby, don't hold out" and "What's the sense in hurtin' my pride?" have been scrutinized in the wake of #MeToo.
But after a week without the song, CBC listeners have apparently demanded that it return to holiday playlists.
"Last week, we decided to press pause to consider the different points of view on playing 'Baby, It's Cold Outside,'" CBC's head of public affairs, Chuck Thompson, said in a statement. "Because we value our audience input, which was overwhelmingly to include the song, we have put it back on the two playlists where it had been removed. Appreciating not everyone interprets lyrics the same way, listeners may wish to skip the song as we understand not everyone will agree with this decision."
Cleveland radio station WDOK-FM was amongst the first to remove the song from the air back in November.
In Canada, Bell Media maintains that there are no plans to reintroduce "Baby, It's Cold Outside" in the future. Rogers did not provide an explanation for its decision to remove the song, but the company has not reversed its decision to pull the song either.
"Baby, It's Cold Outside" isn't the only Christmas song causing controversy this year; the Pogues' "Fairytale of New York" has faced similar criticism for its use of a homophobic slur in the lyrics.