'We're Not Afraid:' Kentucky Radio Station Responds to 'Baby It's Cold Outside' Outrage By Playing Song For 2 Straight Hours
One Kentucky radio station responded to the controversy surrounding the song “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” by playing the song continuously for two hours on Sunday.
The tune, first penned in 1944, made headlines last month, when a radio station in neighboring Ohio removed it from its playlist after a listener expressed concern about the lyrics, suggesting inappropriate conduct toward women.
“It wasn’t really our decision. It’s the decision of our listeners,” WDOK Christmas 102.1 host Desiray told Cleveland Fox News affiliate WJW, adding there had been valid points raised.
“People might say, ‘Oh, enough with that #MeToo,’ but if you really put that aside and listen to the lyrics … the tune might be catchy, but let’s maybe not promote that sort of an idea,” Desiray added.
In the tune a man persistently tries to convince a woman not to leave him, singing, “It’s cold out outside.”
At one point the woman sings, “Say, what’s in this drink?”
WAKY in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, did not find the lyrics offensive and decided to go in the opposite direction of WDOK, declaring it was having a two-hour marathon playing “Baby, It’s Cold Outside.”
“BABY, IT’S COLD OUTSIDE! We like it and we’re not afraid to play it on WAKY for the next couple of hours!” WAKY posted Sunday morning on Facebook.
“I’m not sure why it’s controversial,” Joe Fredele, director of programming for WAKY, told CBS affiliate WLKY. “We’ve played this song for years, you know, this song is older than WAKY is. It’s almost 70 years old.”
Perhaps the best known version of the song was released by the late Dean Martin in 1959.
Martin’s daughter Deana Martin told Fox News earlier this month, “‘Baby, It’s Cold Outside’ is a cute, flirtatious and romantic song.”
“It won the Oscar for ‘Best Original Song’ in the 1949 film ‘Neptune’s Daughter.’ It’s been recorded by dozens of the world’s top recording artists for over 60 years, including my dad Dean Martin,” the 70-year-old performer added. “This song is included in his very successful 1959 ‘Winter Romance’ album and I’m very proud that it has become an evergreen favorite that is played every holiday season.”
“I personally love performing ‘Baby, It’s Cold Outside’ and will continue to do so,” declared Martin. “Merry Christmas!”
WDOK conducted a poll on its Facebook page days after pulling “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” and 94 percent of nearly 10,000 respondents said the song should be played, while only 6 percent voted it was inappropriate.
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