John Legend Drops Updated Version of 'Baby It's Cold Outside' with Kelly Clarkson
John Legend and Kelly Clarkson are bringing a beloved holiday classic into 2019.
The fellow The Voice coaches released an updated version of “Baby It’s Cold Outside” on Thursday night, and changed the lyrics to omit the controversial sexist lines included in the original.
For example, the opening verse’s original version goes like this: “I really can’t stay (but baby, it’s cold outside) /I’ve got to go away (but baby, it’s cold outside)/ This evening has been (been hoping that you’d drop in)/ So very nice (I’ll hold your hands, they’re just like ice)/ My mother will start to worry (beautiful, what’s your hurry?)/ My father will be pacing the floor (listen to the fireplace roar).”
But in the version sung by Legend, 40, and Clarkson, 37, the opening lyrics are changed to: “I really can’t stay (Baby it’s cold outside)/ I’ve gotta go away (I can call you a ride)/ This evening has been (so glad that you dropped in)/ So very nice (time spent with you is paradise)/ My mother will start to worry (I’ll call a car and tell ’em to hurry)/ My daddy will be pacing the floor (Wait, what are you still livin’ home for?).”
RELATED: John Legend and Kelly Clarkson Reimagine ‘Baby It’s Cold Outside’ — Without the Controversial Lyrics
The song — which has been covered by everyone from Dolly Parton and Rod Stewart to Michael Bublé and Idina Menzel to Chris Colfer and Darren Criss on an episode of Glee — has been criticized recently for promoting rape culture with lines like “Say, what’s in this drink?” and a back-and-forth where a man tries to convince a woman to stay the night despite her continued protests — “I really can’t,” and “The answer is no.”
The song was even taken off some radio playlists last year in the wake of the #MeToo movement.
The track will appear on an expanded version of Legend’s Christmas album, A Legendary Christmas: The Deluxe Edition, which is out on November 8.
