Zooey Deschanel recently talked to Entertainment Weekly about the controversial “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” scene from the holiday film “Elf.”
The scene
In the scene, Deschanel’s character Jovie starts singing “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” while she’s in the shower. Buddy the Elf (Will Ferrell) strides into the room, sits on the sink, and begins to duet with Jovie.
- Jovie soon realizes someone is in the bathroom with her, so she stops singing and catches Buddy in the act.
The controversy
The scene has been brought up in social media discussions in recent years. It features “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” — which has been laced with criticism in recent years — and includes a moment where Buddy the Elf is walking in on Jovie in the shower, which is odd and creepy.
But Deschanel isn’t here for the controversy.
- “It’s funny because obviously everyone knows it’s not appropriate to walk in the girls’ bathroom when someone’s showering, but he’s so believable as this guileless elf,” Deschanel told Entertainment Weekly. “It’s weird he’s in there, but you totally buy that his intentions are pure and innocent.”
‘Baby, It’s Cold Outside’ scandal
The Christmas classic “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” drew up controversy in 2018 after listeners reportedly felt the song didn’t work well during the #MeToo movement, as I wrote about for the Deseret News. Radio stations started to ban the song because of listener complaints.