Despite its lyrical promises of indoor merrymaking, "Baby, It's Cold Outside" is being left in the cold this year by Canada's radio broadcasters when it comes to spots on their holiday playlists.
Rogers Media, Bell Media and the CBC have all opted to pull the controversial Christmas tune from their rotations this year, citing a renewed focus on lyrics deemed inappropriate in the wake of #MeToo.
Last week, Cleveland radio station WDOK-FM stopped playing the song in response to listener feedback. In particular, some took issue with exchanges in the duet that include "What's in this drink?" and "Baby, don't hold out."
"Song lyrics are always open to interpretation, and we fully acknowledge there are two camps regarding this issue," CBC public affairs head Chuck Thompson told the Canadian Press. "While we consider both points of view, and in light of the times we are living in, we have chosen to remove the song, for the time being, from two of our holiday music streams."
Bell Media spokesperson Scott Henderson told CP that the company told stations it doesn't plan to reintroduce the song in the future. Rogers spokesperson Caitlin Decarie, meanwhile, said the broadcaster removed the song this year, but declined to say how the decision was reached.
Written by Frank Loesser in 1944, "Baby, It's Cold Outside" won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in the film Neptune's Daughter, starring starring Esther Williams and Ricardo Montalbán.
In the years since, the song has been covered by the likes of Ray Charles and Betty Carter, Idina Menzel and Michael Bublé, Willie Nelson and Norah Jones, Lady Gaga and Joseph Gordon-Levitt and many more.
Rogers Media, Bell Media and the CBC have all opted to pull the controversial Christmas tune from their rotations this year, citing a renewed focus on lyrics deemed inappropriate in the wake of #MeToo.
Last week, Cleveland radio station WDOK-FM stopped playing the song in response to listener feedback. In particular, some took issue with exchanges in the duet that include "What's in this drink?" and "Baby, don't hold out."
"Song lyrics are always open to interpretation, and we fully acknowledge there are two camps regarding this issue," CBC public affairs head Chuck Thompson told the Canadian Press. "While we consider both points of view, and in light of the times we are living in, we have chosen to remove the song, for the time being, from two of our holiday music streams."
Bell Media spokesperson Scott Henderson told CP that the company told stations it doesn't plan to reintroduce the song in the future. Rogers spokesperson Caitlin Decarie, meanwhile, said the broadcaster removed the song this year, but declined to say how the decision was reached.
Written by Frank Loesser in 1944, "Baby, It's Cold Outside" won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in the film Neptune's Daughter, starring starring Esther Williams and Ricardo Montalbán.
In the years since, the song has been covered by the likes of Ray Charles and Betty Carter, Idina Menzel and Michael Bublé, Willie Nelson and Norah Jones, Lady Gaga and Joseph Gordon-Levitt and many more.
