Village People singer defends Trump’s use of ‘YMCA’, says song not ‘gay anthem’

Soon after, athletes began mimicking Trump’s dance to the disco classic on the field, raising questions about the presence of politics in sports.

Willis said he asked Trump to stop using the song because its use had become a “nuisance.” He said Trump received a political use license for the song from BMI, which enforces music performance rights, and therefore had every right to continue using it – which he did.

When other artists began opposing Trump’s use of their music at campaign rallies, Willis said he “didn’t have the heart” to stop him from using “YMCA.” He said he told his wife, who is also the band’s manager, to inform BMI that it does not want to revoke Trump’s license to use the song.

In return, Willis said, he made more money.

“For example, prior to President Elect’s deployment, YMCA was stuck at No. 2 on the Billboard charts. However, after over 45 years, the song finally made it to No. 1 on the Billboard charts (and stayed at No. 1 for two weeks) because of the President-Elect’s use of it,” Willis wrote in the post, adding, “The financial ones “Have advantages.” was great.”

Willis said the “misconception” that “YMCA” was a gay anthem could be due to several factors: his writing partner and several members of the Village People were gay, and the band’s first album was “solely about gay life and “the YMCA was apparently used as a kind of gay meeting place.” However, he emphasized that the song was not a gay anthem and called for people to “get their minds out of the gutter.”

Willis said he doesn’t mind the song being considered a gay anthem, but the misconceptions are “detrimental to the song.” Starting in January, he said, his wife will sue any news organization that calls “YMCA” a gay anthem.

Trump’s team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.