Concerns Cause Princeton A Capella To Remove 'Kiss The Girl' Song

PRINCETON, NJ — A Princeton A Capella group will no longer be performing the long-timed tradition of "Kiss The Girl" following controversy raised in the university's newspaper.

Every year the Tigertones perform the Disney song which involves selecting a female and male duo from the audience and having them dance together and "then requesting that they 'do as the song says' before the group promptly advocates for a peck on the cheek."

Tigertones President Wesley Brown noted that in the last few years, the group has taken intentional steps towards ensuring that audience participation is "more voluntary and consensual. These steps have clearly not succeeded in guaranteeing total comfort for both participants or in obtaining continual consent."

In the age of #MeToo, with songs such as "Baby It's Cold Outside," being re-evaluated by radio stations, "Kiss The Girl" may no longer be acceptable.

A columnist at Daily Princetonian wrote a plea to the A Capella group asking them to stop singing and performing this tradition.

"Even when gently crooned by an animated crab, the song 'Kiss The Girl,' from the Disney hit 'The Little Mermaid,' is more misogynistic and dismissive of consent than cute. By performing the song multiple times each semester, the Tigertones elevate it to an offensive and violating ritual," Noa Wollstein stated in the Daily Princetonian.

"The Tigertones may not be asking the girl if she wants to be kissed, but I am asking them to stop singing this song — now," she continued.

Brown issued an apology and statement saying the group would be removing "Kiss the Girl" from their active repertoire due to the concerns "until we can arrive at a way to perform it that is comfortable and enjoyable for every member of our audience. We sincerely apologize to any of our past participants and audience members for whom our performance of this song was uncomfortable or offensive."

You can view the Tigertones past performance of "Kiss The Girl" from 2013 below:

(Image and video via Princeton Tigertones on YouTube)

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