Over the past few weeks, the classic Christmas song “Baby It’s Cold Outside” has become controversial, with some radio stations banning it by claiming it “promotes rape culture.” Now, Deanna Martin, the daughter of legendary singer Dean Martin, has spoken out to defend the song.
Deanna’s father famously performed the song before passing away in 1995, and she was disturbed when she saw the song was now being banned.
“I was absolutely flabbergasted,” Deana said. “It’s just insane. When I heard it, I said, ‘This can’t possibly be.’ You know, it’s a sweet, flirty, fun holiday song that’s been around for 40 years for my dad. He did it in ’59. But when I saw it, I tweeted, ‘I think this is crazy. What do you think?’ And then all of a sudden, it went viral.”
“It’s flirty, it’s sexy, it’s sweet – there’s nothing bad about that song,” she added of the song. “It just breaks my heart.”
Deana also said that her father would be disgusted if he saw what was happening with the song now.
“I know my dad would be going insane right now,” she lamented. “He would say, ‘What’s the matter with you? Get over it. It’s just a fun song.’ ‘Cause he was so sweet anyway. … He was a great guy. Fun guy. Nice. And he wouldn’t want to do anything offensive. That wasn’t Dean Martin. So this has just been outrageous.”
Deana went on to say that she plans to continue performing the song, and she has no plans to change the lyrics.
“I don’t want to change the lyrics,” she said. “When she says, ‘Hey, what’s in this drink?’ I don’t think she’s talking about some pill being put in that drink. It’s like, ‘Is this punch?’ You know, what’s in this drink? Is it vodka? It was nice. It’s just breaking my heart that people would turn that around.
“… This PC is driving me nuts,” Deana added. “You gotta sit back and relax. Have a good time. It’s OK. People gotta have a sense of humor about themselves. I understand the #MeToo movement and everything. I’m all for that. But this? We gotta relax and have fun again.”
Check out Deana’s full interview defending the song below!
— Deana Martin (@DeanaMartin_) December 10, 2018
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