A radio station pulled “Baby It’s Cold Outside” because of the #MeToo movement—and it’s about time
November is coming to a close, which means that it’s officially time to start listening to holiday music (or pretending like you haven’t been since Halloween). But one radio station in Ohio won’t be playing a traditional holiday staple—for good reason. USA Today reports that the Cleveland-based WDOK 102.1, which plays Christmas music non-stop during the holiday season, will no longer feature “Baby It’s Cold Outside.” The station reportedly came to this decision after a phone call from a listener, who felt the 1940s hit song was problematic following the #MeToo movement and the awareness it has brought to issues surrounding consent.
According to local NBC affiliate WKYC, Glenn Anderson— a weekday host on the station—noted that after reading the song’s lyrics in the modern era “it seems very manipulative and wrong.”
"In a world where #MeToo has finally given women the voice they deserve, the song has no place,"Anderson reportedly added.
The station also posted a poll to its website, allowing listeners to weigh in on the issue.
Amid the #MeToo movement, an Ohio radio station has decided to stop playing the song "Baby, It's Cold Outside." https://t.co/VvbWWmZeG5 pic.twitter.com/V54eNkn4vN
— KATU News (@KATUNews) November 30, 2018
In case it’s been a while since you’ve heard “Baby It’s Cold Outside,” the song entails a duet between a male and female vocalist, with the woman singing “The answer is no” and asking, “Say, what’s in this drink?” However, some have also defended the song, arguing that, in a more conservative era, the woman in the song might have wanted to stay over, but was worried about what her friends and family would think.
Regardless of where you stand on “Baby It’s Cold Outside,” it’s clear that, thanks in part to the #MeToo movement, people are starting to seriously consider issues of consent, as well as think more critically about norms we’ve previously (and perhaps, dangerously) accepted. And that’s definitely a step in the right direction.
