John Legend has finally addressed the excessive backlash he and his fellow coach on The Voice, Kelly Clarkson, have been receiving over their rendition of "Baby It's Cold Outside."
He wants to clarify that just because they recorded a revised version of the song, doesn't mean you can't still listen to the old one.
However, their rendition of the track was really not well-received...
While we can't actually confirm what the song was originally written about all those years ago, nowadays, some argue that the lyrics are a nod to rape culture.
"My mother will start to worry (beautiful what's your hurry?)"
"But maybe just a half a drink more (put some records on while I pour)"
"Say, what's in this drink? (no cabs to be had out there)"
So, John Legend and Kelly Clarkson decided to make a version of the song that some people may feel more comfortable listening to.
"What will my friends think (I think they should rejoice)"
"If I have one more drink? (It’s your body, and your choice)”
“I really can’t stay (Baby it’s cold outside)"
"I’ve gotta go away (I can call you a ride.)"
But on the contrary...
They received an overwhelming amount of backlash.
On an episode of The Talk, Sharon said, "What would John Legend do, if in 40 years, if somebody wanted to… re-record one of his songs, and there was some group that found it offensive, and somebody just went, ‘Oh, I can change the lyrics on that.'"
"To change an innocent lyric, to what is it, 'Your mind and your body?' What the hell are you on? That's ridiculous," she said.
"I love John Legend’s wife, his family. He’s an amazing artist that I really respect. Why do you do this? That's not right," Osbourne went on.
Osbourne wasn't the only famous name to not approve of the changes — Dean Martin's daugther, Deana Martin, called the new version of the song "absolutely absurd."
"It’s a classic, perfect song," she said on Good Morning Britain.
"Did you not hear that John and I ruined Christmas recently?," Kelly said on The Kelly Clarkson Show. "I was like, 'How did I mess that up?"
"So we were like, 'Let's give them another option, and apparently we killed Christmas!"
In an interview with People, John said his piece as well.
“It’s just another version of the song. If you don’t wanna listen to it, you don’t have to."
If you have a problem with John and Kelly's version of "Baby It's Cold Outside", you can always listen to the original one instead, just as easily.
And furthermore, no one is saying you have to listen to the new version either.
“We wanted a comedic angle to it so I asked Natasha Rothwell from ‘Insecure’ to be my co-writer on it,” he explained.
"One that’s kind of updated for now. And we had a lot of fun making it.”
Let us know what you think in the comments below!
Do you prefer the old lyrics? Or the new ones?
