Mighty cold shoulder for Legend’s #MeToo rewrite
I’m blocking my ears and giving a cold shoulder to John Legend’s new #MeToo inspired version of the holiday classic, “Baby, It’s Cold Outside.”
Is anything sacred anymore?
Legend has co-opted the award-winning tune, written by songwriter Frank Loesser during the height of World War II in 1944, and has modernized it with “consent friendly” lyrics.
The result is nothing short of laughable.
Last year, some PC warriors targeted the original version of the song, calling it — a “date rape anthem.”
John Legend has now taken it upon himself to right this supposed wrong.
He’s teamed up with his musical partner in crime
Kelly Clarkson for a duet that turns the holiday song into a “your body — your choice” rallying cry that fails to hit its mark.
They’re reaching for the wrong straw, or candy cane, here.
Legend’s modernized lyrics, which include the line, “We’re both adults, so who’s keeping score?” have transformed what was once a romantically suggestive song for the Greatest Generation into a 2019 failed booty call.
Dean Martin’s daughter is speaking out, claiming the lyrics are even more explicit now.
The classic song has been changed many times before to remove the line, “Well, maybe just a cigarette more.”
But Legend sticks with the original words here. Does he not care about deadly carcinogens and lung disease?
The new version is more like a tribute to an Uber driver named Murray than it is a reminder to all of us that no means no.
We don’t need a silly Christmas (yes, I said Christmas!) song to tell us that.
Do we?
I appreciate John Legend’s music. I’ve seen him perform live and the guy is one heck of a talent.
But when I hear him croon his own song, “Love Me Now,” which carries the lyric:
“I know it’ll kill me when it’s over/I don’t wanna think about it, I want you to love me now,” I don’t think of a guy demanding sex and threatening suicide if his girlfriend dumps him.
There’s no need to investigate old songs for hidden meanings, especially when today’s music is so blatantly misogynistic.
But someone’s trash is another person’s treasure, so who are we to judge what is offensive and what is art?
We shouldn’t be trying to wipe out the past. We should do a better job explaining it.
Disney is grappling with this issue right now with the launch of its Disney Plus streaming platform. The mouse house has once again opened its vault and released animated classics like “The Jungle Book” and “Dumbo.”
But this time, both films come with the following disclaimer: “This program is presented as originally created. It may contain outdated cultural depictions.”
Animators aren’t airbrushing King Louie out of “The Jungle Book” and they haven’t cut the racially insensitive crow scene from “Dumbo.”
The studio is allowing its subscribers to make the call whether to watch those movies or not.
As for “Baby It’s Cold Outside,” I think I’ll stick to the original, sit back and listen to the fireplace roar.