Village People’s Victor Willis defends Donald Trump’s use of ‘YMCA’

Victor Willis, a founding member of the Village People, is determined to set the record straight about the song “Y.M.C.A.”

In a lengthy Facebook post on Monday, the 73-year-old singer songwriter not only denied the song’s status as a “gay anthem,” but doubled down on his decision to let President-elect Donald Trump play the song at campaign rallies leading up to his November win. After claiming that Trump acquired the necessary BMI license to use the song, Willis explained that he decided not to withdraw permissions upon observing that Trump seemed to “genuinely like” the song, and was “having a lot of fun” with it.

Willis wrote that he “didn’t have the heart” to block Trump’s use of the track, particularly because it came at a time when “numerous artists [were] withdrawing the President-elect’s use of their material.”

The twice-impeached former president has indeed faced backlash for his musical choices throughout each of his presidential runs, from artists including Rihanna, Pharrell, Adele, Aerosmith, Neil Young, Ozzy Osbourne, Nickelback, the Rolling Stones, Queen, and more. Back in 2020, the Village People themselves were amongst the opposing musicians.

The group initially offered their reluctant permission to Trump, writing, “He has remained respectful in his use of our songs and has not crossed the line,” in a February Facebook post. But just four months later, they revoked their approval and requested Trump stop using their music in the wake of his administration’s militant response to peaceful Black Lives Matter protests in June 2020. “I ask that you no longer use any of my music at your rallies especially ‘Y.M.C.A.’ and ‘Macho Man.’ Sorry, but I can no longer look the other way,” Willis wrote at the time.

But now, the Village People frontman notes that allowing “Y.M.C.A.” to be used at Trump’s events has led to significant financial gains.

“Y.M.C.A. has benefited greatly from use by the President-elect,” Willis wrote. “For example, Y.M.C.A. was stuck at #2 on the Billboard chart prior to the President-elect’s use. However, the song finally made it to #1 on a Billboard chart after over 45 years (and held on to #1 for two weeks) due to the President-elect’s use.”

He added that the track is “estimated to gross several million dollars” since Trump’s use of it began. “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.”     

Willis then addressed the common characterization of the song as a “gay anthem,” vehemently denying that achieving such a status was his intent when penning the lyrics.

“There’s been a lot of talk, especially of late, that Y.M.C.A. is somehow a gay anthem,” Willis wrote. “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 continued, “This assumption is also based on the fact that the YMCA 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.”

Willis wrote that he “knew nothing about the Y being a hang out for gays” and explained that he wrote “Y.M.C.A.” based on his knowledge of the San Francisco locations as a hangout spot.

“When I say, ‘hang out with all the boys’ that is simply 1970s Black slang for Black guys hanging-out together for sports, gambling or whatever,” he said of one of the song’s most notable lyrics. “There’s nothing gay about that.”

The musician then declared his intent to have his wife, lawyer Karen Willis, sue “each and every news organization that falsely refers to Y.M.C.A.” as a gay anthem, adding, “However, I don’t mind that gays think of the song as their anthem.”

Willis concluded, “The true anthem is Y.M.C.A.’s appeal to people of all [stripes] 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.”