Victor Willis, the lead singer and co-writer of the iconic Village People hit “YMCA,” has stepped into the spotlight again, defending the song’s use by President-elect Donald Trump and rejecting claims that it is a “gay anthem.” In a recent Facebook post, Willis addressed the ongoing controversy surrounding Trump’s use of the song at his rallies, revealing that he had received hundreds of complaints about it since 2020, but ultimately chose not to block its use.
Despite the initial pushback against Trump’s use of the song, Willis has ultimately embraced the unexpected role “YMCA” has played in the political realm. The song’s continued association with Trump has even become a cultural phenomenon, with Trump’s dance moves to the tune at rallies becoming an internet sensation. His signature “double horizontal fist pump with hip swings to the beat” has been widely shared on social media and mimicked by fans, including athletes like Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers, further cementing the song’s place in pop culture.
The legal aspect of Trump’s use of “YMCA” was also touched upon in Willis’s post. He clarified that while he had received complaints about the song being used by Trump, the Trump campaign had legally obtained a political use license from BMI, the organization that handles performance rights for songs.
Willis further explained that while some artists had sought to withdraw their music from Trump’s campaign events, he personally didn’t have the heart to do so. “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 ‘YMCA’ because it is a U.S. matter, and I will make the decision on his use,” Willis wrote.
The song, which has become a cultural staple since its release in 1978, has often been associated with LGBTQ+ culture, partly due to its association with the Village People — a group known for its campy, over-the-top personas and themes related to gay culture. However, Willis made it clear that while the song may have been adopted by certain communities, its creation was never intended as a direct message for the LGBTQ+ community.
The assumption, he explained, stems from the fact that his writing partner, Jacque Morali, was gay and that some members of the Village People were also part of the LGBTQ+ community. Additionally, the YMCA itself was sometimes seen as a gathering place for gay men at the time the song was written.
Willis rejected these assumptions outright, emphasizing that the song’s meaning had always been misinterpreted. “There’s been a lot of talk, especially of late, that ‘YMCA’ is somehow a gay anthem,” he wrote. “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.”
Instead, he described the song as a celebration of the YMCA’s role as a community center, where young men could come together and find support. “To that I say once again, get your minds out of the gutter. It is not,” he added, rejecting the notion that the song was inherently tied to gay culture or activism.
Willis wrote that since 2020, he had received “over a thousand complaints” about Trump’s use of the song, with many people questioning why he allowed it to continue. In his post, Willis acknowledged that he had briefly considered asking Trump to stop using “YMCA,” calling it a “nuisance” based on the sheer number of inquiries he got about it.
“Before Trump began using the song, ‘YMCA’ was stuck at #2 on the Billboard chart,” Willis explained. “Thanks to his campaign’s continued use of the song, it finally made it to #1, and the financial benefits have been great. ‘YMCA’ is estimated to have grossed several million dollars since the President-elect’s continued use of the song.”
“Therefore, I’m glad I allowed the President-elect’s continued use of ‘YMCA.’ And I thank him for choosing to use my song,” he wrote, acknowledging that Trump’s usage had brought new life to the iconic track.
Despite the ongoing debates over its association with the LGBTQ+ community and its usage by political figures like Trump, Willis’s stance suggests that he is comfortable with the song’s evolution into a broader cultural symbol.
I never considered this song a “Gay Anthem.” I like Disco, always have, because it is innocent music with a happy beat. I had a six-disc changer installed in my Chrysler 300c because it did not have this feature. It does have useless features I don’t use, like Apple CarPlay, although I do like the Satellite Radio. I like the Village People, and I am not Gay!
Anyone ever heard of ASCAP? You register your music/songs with them and YOU GET PAID RESIDUALS EVERY TIME THE SONG IS PLAYED PUBLICALLY.
OF course Willis is THRILLED. Cha-Ching Cha-Ching $$$$$$$$