Kelly Clarkson has responded after her cover of ‘Baby, It’s Cold Outside’ with John Legend was criticised for altering the lyrics to reflect the #MeToo movement.
The pair released their own updated version of the Christmas hit last month, after the original track faced controversy from critics who suggested that it raised serious questions about sexual consent.
It was argued that one line of the back-and-forth song – “Say what’s in this drink? (No cabs to be had out there)” – was a reference to date rape.
Sharon Osbourne and the daughter of Dean Martin were among the chief critics of the new version, with the latter saying that the alterations “absolutely” offended her.
Speaking with Legend’s wife Chrissy Teigen on her US talk show yesterday (November 19), Kelly admitted she had no idea the new song would prove so controversial.
“People got so mad,” she said.
“John had this idea – because of the #MeToo movement, they pulled Baby, It’s Cold Outside from a lot of radio stations. I love that song… Both John and I have cut the original, we like the original, but we noticed that a lot of people didn’t, so we were like, ‘Let’s give them another option’, and apparently we killed Christmas!
“I woke up the next day and I was like, ‘What…?’ The original doesn’t even offend me. I was just like, ‘Cool, we’ll do another version!'”
Teigen then took aim at Osbourne and said she “assumed that you guys burned them (old copies) in the backyard or something and they could never listen to the original ever again.
“It’s hard to offend me. I wasn’t mad about the song, I don’t care what you guys do, but to be like, ‘Ooh, I hate this now…’ Oh my God, get over it! Go off Sharon.”
The controversy surrounding the song first erupted last year when the Star 102 radio station in Cleveland, Ohio, pulled ‘Baby It’s Cold Outside’ from its playlist after a string of complaints.
Glenn Anderson, a host at the station, said that although the song was written in a different era, the lyrics feel “manipulative and wrong.”
The song was originally written by Frank Loesser in 1944, recorded for the 1949 film ‘Neptune’s Daughter’ and won an Oscar for Best Original Song in 1950.
It’s since been covered by an array of high-profile singers including Tom Jones, Michael Bublé, Lady Gaga, as well as big-screen stars Will Ferrell and Zooey Deschanel in the iconic festive comedy Elf.