Video: Saskatchewan Rush perform ‘Baby, It’s Cold Outside’ during halftime show; here’s why people are upset

Dec 14, 2018

By Herb Scribner

A Canadian champion professional lacrosse team has gone all in on “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” despite the ongoing controversy.

What happened: The Saskatchewan Rush sang the song during halftime of an exhibition game during the weekend, The Calgary Herald reports.

The team called for attendees to sing the tune as the lacrosse players held fake newspapers, which had the song’s title scribed across the top. The team posted photos on Facebook of them holding the newspapers.

https://www.facebook.com/SaskRush/posts/1988431544597532

Context: “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” has faced controversy this year after radio stations canceled the song because of how its lyrics work in 2018 in the era of #MeToo. Celebrities, singers and more have weighed in on the song and whether or not it should air on the radio.

Rush owner Bruce Urban said the team wanted to poke fun at society, calling it a “flirtatious, fun Christmas song.”

“For those people who are sensitive, I get it. I’m all for a movement that talks about proper and equal rights for men and women … but we need to keep in the limits and not get carried away as well,” he said.

Reactions: Critics slammed the team for singing the song, according to Fox News.

One Twitter user said the choice to sing the song was “tone deaf, loutish and reinforces the ‘dumb, privileged male athlete’ stereotype.”

Regardless of how one feels about the lyrics and their impact, the @SaskRushLAX response is tone deaf, loutish and reinforces the “dumb, privileged male athlete” stereotype. #noclass

— Iain MacDonald (@AvonleaComm) December 11, 2018

Another person wrote, “Look at these white men getting uppitty (sic) about something pretty much insignificant. Why not put this kind of effort into (something) that matters? There are a lot homeless folks that could use energy like this to help them when it’s cold outside.”