Wisconsin radio station pulls ‘Baby, It’s Cold Outside’
MADISON, Wis. (WISC) – A Madison radio station has pulled a now-controversial seasonal song from its airwaves, a station leader said.
Mid-West Family Broadcasting Program Director Fletcher Keyes said he took all versions of “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” out of rotation on Hank AM 1550 and 97.7 FM Monday.
“It’s describing a scenario that wouldn’t be OK today, so we didn’t feel that we had to have it,” Keyes said. “We didn’t want to feel that we were OK with that type of relationship situation.”
Keyes said he takes what is played on the station very seriously and believes the song could bring up bad feelings.
“Many of our listeners have likely said no and have been disrespected. If by playing that song it makes just one listener have emotion or anger from an incident then it’s not worth playing,” Keyes said.
Hank switched from its regular lineup of classic country songs to country Christmas music Nov. 22, and the holiday tunes — minus the debated duet — will play through Christmas Day.
“If we all believe ‘no means no,’ how can you play that song?”
Keyes said there haven’t been any complaints about “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” to the station, but that the tone of the song in 2018 is different from when it was originally written in the 1940s.
