Village People singer Victor Willis denied that the iconic “YMCA” song was a “gay anthem,” and defended President-elect Donald Trump’s usage of the song, stating that he was “glad” he allowed Trump to continue to use the song.
In a post on Facebook, Victor Willis revealed that “since 2020” he had gotten “over a thousand complaints” regarding Trump’s usage of the iconic “YMCA” tune. Willis added that he “decided to ask” Trump to stop using the song because it “had become a nuisance” to Willis.
Willis highlighted the good things that have come from Trump’s usage of the song, such as the song reaching the number one spot on the Billboard chart. The singer added that while there was “a lot of talk” about the song being a “gay anthem” this was “a false assumption based on the fact that” his writing partner had been gay.
“To Village People fans and the media,” Willis wrote. “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% of the lyrics, and my writing partner, Jacque Morali wrote the music.”
WHY I ALLOWED PRESIDENT ELECT TRUMP’S CONTINUED USE OF Y.M.C.A. AND WHY THE SONG IS NOT REALLY A GAY ANTHEM To…
Posted by Victor Willis on Monday, December 2, 2024
“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 wrote. “However, the use continued because the Trump campaign knew they had obtained a political use license from BMI and absent that license being terminated, they had every right to continue using Y.M.C.A. And they did.”
Willis added that he noticed several artists had started “withdrawing” Trump’s usage “of their material,” adding that he “didn’t have the heart” to prevent Trump from using the song.
“So I told my wife to inform BMI to not withdraw the Trump campaign political use license,” Willis continued. “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.”
Willis explained that before Trump began using the song, “Y.M.C.A. was stuck at #2 on the Billboard chart,” adding that the song “finally made it to” the number one spot due to Trump’s usage.
“The financial benefits have been great as well as Y.M.C.A is estimated to gross several million dollars since the President Elect’s continued use of the song,” Willis wrote.
“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.”
“There’s been a lot of talk, especially of late, that Y.M.C.A. is somehow a gay anthem,” Willis continued. “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. 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’s post comes as Trump’s dance moves to the “Y.M.C.A.” tune have become a cultural phenomenon, with athletes such as Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers and others, and regular citizens being captured dancing to the tune.
As Breitbart News’s Wendell Husebo reported, the Trump dance to the “Y.M.C.A.” tune involves “a double horizontal fist pump with hip swings to the beat of the Y.M.C.A.”
On Thanksgiving, Trump and Elon Musk were seen bopping out to the “Y.M.C.A.” tune at Mar-a-Lago.
