After an Ohio radio station quit playing “Baby It’s Cold Outside,” other stations in the U.S. have reportedly been tasked with determining the song’s fate in their regions.
Radio stations in Northern California and Colorado have turned to polling their listeners in order to decide what to do, USA Today reported Wednesday.
The fate of the song's playtime comes after Cleveland station WDOK removed the tune after one listener called in and suggested that it’s not appropriate to play the 1940s classic in 2018, Fox 8 reported last week.
“It wasn't really our decision," WDOK host Desiray told the outlet. "It's the decision of our listeners."
Following the removal, San Francisco-based station 96.5 KOIT revealed on their website that they too had decided to do away with the song. But the decision sparked an outcry among their listeners to bring it back, they said.
“On Monday, December 3rd, 96.5 KOIT Program Director, Brian Figula, made the decision to remove ‘Baby It’s Cold Outside’ (from various artists) after receiving complaints from listeners, and the trending national story from Cleveland,” the station said. “After removing the song, we have received hundreds of comments on social media and via email demanding that ‘Baby It’s Cold Outside’ be placed back to the Christmas Playlist.”
The public’s response prompted them to create a poll to help determine the song’s future, the results of which would be announced Monday, the website said.
KOSI 101 in Denver found themselves in a similar situation, revealing in a news release Tuesday that they also surveyed their listeners about the song. Their online poll generated more than 15,000 responses and “showed overwhelmingly that KOSI 101.1 listeners were in favor of the holiday classic returning to the air,” KOSI 101 said.
Following reports about the Ohio station’s decision, the station said they received negative feedback from listeners about the tune. As a result, they “decided to rest the song” and launched the poll, the news release said.
TRINA BRAXTON DEFENDS ‘BABY IT’S COLD OUTSIDE’ AFTER RADIO STATION AXES TUNE OVER SONG’S LYRICS
“Respondents voted 95% in favor of us keeping the song as part of KOSI 101.1’s tradition of playing all of your holiday favorites,” KOSI 101.1 program director, Jim Lawson, said. “While we are sensitive to those who may be upset by some of the lyrics, the majority of our listeners have expressed their interpretation of the song to be non-offensive.”
The 1944 song, written by Frank Loesser, has sparked debate over its lyrics.
In the tune, which has been covered by many artists since its debut, a female sings: "I really can’t stay,” to which a man responds: "But baby, it’s cold outside.”
In another part of a song, a woman is heard singing lines like "Say what's in this drink?", "The answer is no" and "I've gotta get home."
Fox News’ Mariah Haas contributed to this report.