The lead singer of Village People has explained why he eventually came around to Donald Trump’s continual use of the group’s 1978 hit “Y.M.C.A.” at campaign rallies, despite initially finding it to be a “nuisance.”
The disco group’s song became a campaign staple for the President-elect. He played it at nearly every single event during his successful run to reclaim the White House, often busting out his specific set of moves.
On Monday (December 2), Victor Willis, 73, addressed the song’s massive surge in popularity in the months leading up to and since the election, sharing a note to fans and the media.
“I am the singer and writer of the lyrics to the hit ‘Y.M.C.A.’ In fact, as was adjudicated and ruled in a U.S. District Court, I wrote 100 percent of the lyrics, and my writing partner, Jacques Morali wrote the music,” he posted on Facebook.
“Since 2020, I’ve received over a thousand complaints about President-Elect Trump’s use of ‘Y.M.C.A.’ With that many complaints, I decided to ask the President-Elect to stop using Y.M.C.A. because his use had become a nuisance to me,” Willis explained.
However, he shared that the campaign continued with the use of the song because they had “obtained a political use license from BMI.”
“They had every right to continue using ‘Y.M.C.A.’ And they did,” he continued. “In fact, I started noticing numerous artists withdrawing the President Elect’s use of their material. But by the time I said to my wife one day, hey, ‘Trump’ seems to genuinely like Y.M.C.A. and he’s having a lot of fun with it.
“As such, I simply didn’t have the heart to prevent his continued use of my song in the face of so many artists withdrawing his use of their material,” Willis added. “So I told my wife to inform BMI to not withdraw the Trump campaign political use license. My French partners were contemplating legal action out of France. So I had my wife contact our French partners and asked them to stay out of the Trump campaign’s use of ‘Y.M.C.A.’ because it is a U.S. matter, and I will make the decision on his use. Our French partners quickly backed off of their objection to his use.”
He revealed that Trump’s use of the song has greatly benefited its streaming numbers as well as led to an estimated gross of “several million dollars.”
“Therefore, I’m glad I allowed the President Elect’s continued use of ‘Y.M.C.A.’ And I thank him for choosing to use my song,” he said.
While the song’s lyrics contain multiple double entendres on gay male life, hence its popularity within the LGBTQ+ community, Willis went on to denounce the public’s label of the song as a gay anthem.
“As I’ve said numerous times in the past, that is a false assumption based on the fact that my writing partner was gay, and some (not all) of Village People were gay, and that the first Village People album was totally about gay life,” he shared.
“This assumption is also based on the fact that the ‘Y.M.C.A.’ was apparently being used as some sort of gay hangout and since one of the writers was gay and some of the Village People are gay, the song must be a message to gay people. To that I say once again, get your minds out of the gutter. It is not.”
He threatened to sue every news organization that has falsely referred “either in their headlines or alluded to in the base of the story, that ‘Y.M.C.A.’ is somehow a gay anthem because such notion is based solely on the song’s lyrics alluding to elicit activity for which it does not.”
“However, I don’t mind that gays think of the song as their anthem,” he assured. “The true anthem is ‘Y.M.C.A.’s’ appeal to people of all strips [sic] including President-elect Trump. But the song is not really a gay anthem other than certain people falsely suggesting that it is. And this must stop because it is damaging to the song,” Willis concluded.
