John Legend Updating ‘Baby, It’s Cold Outside’ Lyrics, Performing With Kelly Clarkson

The holiday song “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” has been a topic of conversation in recent years due to its lyrics, but John Legend is working around that problem by changing them. For his upcoming album A Legendary Christmas: The Deluxe Edition, Legend rewrote some of the song’s original lyrics along with Insecure star Natasha Rothwell, changing several lines to include a message of consent.

According to a press release shared by Pitchfork, the new lines include:

“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)”

Legend enlisted fellow The Voice coach Kelly Clarkson as his duet partner on the track, and Vanity Fair adds that the two stars exchange the following lines during the song:

“What will my friends think…” sings Clarkson.
“I think they should rejoice,” Legend responds.
“… if I have one more drink?”
“It’s your body, and your choice.”

The original lyrics were recently deemed by many to be akin to suggesting date rape, with the female subject of the song expressing her wish to leave her male companion’s house as he protests her with lines like, “What’s the sense in hurting my pride?” There’s also a line where the woman questions what’s in her drink, which has been removed in Legend and Clarkson’s new version.

Last year, a Cleveland radio station drew attention when it decided to stop playing the song, with Star 102 employee Glenn Anderson explaining that the lyrics were deemed “no longer appropriate.” Some stations followed suit, while many others continued to play the 1949 song.

Some people on Twitter were unsure about the decision to update the lines.

Others appeared to be over hearing anything about the song and its lyrics in general.

“How does ‘Baby It’s Cold Outside’ discourse season get earlier every year,” one Twitter user wrote.

Another wrote, “Only four more days till ‘Baby, It’s Cold Outside’ thinkpiece season kicks off.”

A Legendary Christmas: The Deluxe Edition will be released on Nov. 8.

Photo Credit: Getty / NBC