Baby, It's Cold Outside gets played on repeat on Kentucky radio station

WAKY-FM protests the ban of the 1940s Christmas song

Scene from Baby, It's Cold Outside music video.

Christmas tune Baby, It's Cold Outside is back in the news again, as WAKY-FM, a Kentucky radio station, decided to play it on repeat for two hours in protest to news that the song has been banished from the airwaves for being "inappropriate".

There's been a storm of debate on the matter since a radio station pulled the song last month, citing the #MeToo movement as their main motivation. It started in Cleveland, Ohio, after Star 102 FM received complaints from listeners about the inappropriate nature of its lyrics.

Written back in 1944 by Frank Loesser, the song is a duet between a man and woman, where the lady is saying she "really can't stay", while the gentleman is convincing her to stay, because, well, "it's cold outside". It has since been covered by Michael Buble, Lady Gaga, Tom Jones and Cerys Matthews. It also won the Academy Award for Best Original Song when it appeared in the 1949 rom-com Neptune's Daughter.

Glenn Anderson of Star 102 wrote a blog post explaining the decision to pull the song, saying: "it seems very manipulative and wrong.

"The world we live in is extra sensitive now, and people get easily offended, but in a world where #MeToo has finally given women the voice they deserve, the song has no place."

Many people disagreed, however. A poll on Star 102 Cleveland's Facebook page showed 94 per cent of voters thought the song was a classic and should be played, while only six per cent thought it too inappropriate for airtime.

One Twitter user, who admitted to being a victim of sexual violence as a teenager, agreed with the majority, saying "it's adorable and this is ridiculous".

Allen Evans, another Twitter user, pointed out that many modern pop songs are perhaps more offensive. "If you've got to go back 74 years for a song that's offensive, you haven't listened to the radio in the last 20 years," he wrote.

Of course, a slew of hilarious memes were released into the Twittersphere, too. Including this one of Will Ferrell playing Ron Burgundy in Anchorman.

Many listeners and followers of WAKY-FM were thrilled with the Baby, It's Cold Outside marathon. "Hooray for WAKY!!" writes Lisa Howard Vice on Facebook. "Thank you so much for playing this holiday classic and standing strong in Kentucky!"

Cindy Snow commented: "Everyone is entitled to their opinion but if you don't like the song change the station. All those Christmas songs are part of our upbringing and we must not lose it."

Whatever side of the fence you sit on, Merry Christmas y'all.

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