Dean Martin's daughter rips John Legend's #MeToo remake of Christmas classic 'Baby, It's Cold Outside'

Ain't that a kick in the head.

Singer John Legend's politically correct remake of the Christmas classic "Baby, It's Cold Outside" has sparked a backlash among music fans. Among its critics is Deana Martin, daughter of late legendary crooner Dean Martin who helped popularize the song.

Martin, who is also a singer, told "Good Morning Britain" hosts Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid that Legend's politically correct duet with pop star Kelly Clarkson is "absolutely absurd." Martin's father included the track in his 1959 album "A Winter Romance."

Legend, Clarkson criticized for new 'Baby, It's Cold Outside' | ABC Newswww.youtube.com

Is it a 'date rape' song?

"Baby, It's Cold Outside" was written in 1944 by composer Frank Loesser and describes a man and a woman flirting with one another during a chilly winter night. For decades, the song was a critically acclaimed family favorite. It even earned an Academy Award in 1949 for Best Original Song after it was performed in the movie Neptune's Daughter.

In recent years, however, some progressives have attacked the holiday tune as normalizing date rape in the #MeToo era. As one Inc.com writer argued, "Until the question of whether no means no has been cleared up permanently, we just don't need our Christmas songs adding to the confusion." Some radio stations have even stopped playing it.

Among the lines of the original track that progressives consider problematic are:

The neighbors might think (Baby it's bad out there)
Say what's in this drink (No cabs to be had out there)
I wish I knew how (Your eyes are like starlight now)
To break this spell (I'll take your hat, your hair looks swell)

Legend, who recently endorsed Elizabeth Warren for president, swapped out those lyrics for the following rather unromantic lines:

What will my friends think? (It's your body and your choice)
If I have one more drink? (It's your body and your choice)
Ooh you really know how (Your eyes are like starlight now)
To cast a spell (One look at you and then I fell)

'Get over it'

Martin thinks her father's classic should be left alone. "You do not change the lyrics to the song," she said.

Television personality Sharon Osbourne agrees. "It's ridiculous!" said the British celebrity.

Martin also noted that Legend may have actually sexualized the song in his reimagined version. "He's made it more sexual in it with those words that he has just said."

This is not the first time that Martin has had to address objections to the lyrics. In a 2018 interview on Fox, she said she would continue performing the winter season favorite despite criticisms. "It's flirty, it's sexy, it's sweet — there's nothing bad about that song," she said. "It just breaks my heart."

Martin added her dad would be confused by the controversy as much as anyone. "I know my dad would be going insane right now. He would say, 'What's the matter with you? Get over it. It's just a fun song.'"