Most sane musicians would rather not be associated with Donald Trump, and as such, the convicted felon and terrible dancer doesn’t have a great musical catalogue to work with when taking the stage, or leading an impromptu dance party. However, one tune is clearly a favorite of the escaped Oompa Loompa, and he’s been using it consistently for several years.
We’re talking, of course, about “Y.M.C.A.,” the disco classic which literally everybody knows the words and dance moves to. It’s one of the most iconic songs of all time, but how come Trump is still using it to this day? Artists usually sell public performance rights to organizations which allow venues to make use of the music, however, the original artist can still revoke that permission — and they do, especially when it comes to Trump using their music. However, Victor Willis, founding member of Village People and author of “Y.M.C.A.,” has decided to continue allowing Donald to use the song.
Allowing Trump to use his music could lead fans to conclude that Willis agrees with the MAGA madman, which may not necessarily be true. However, this is why most artists choose to stop Trump from using their songs. “Y.M.C.A.” is one of the most iconic gay anthems of all time, right? So why would Willis allow a bigoted homophobe like Trump to use the song?
Victor Willis claims “Y.M.C.A” isn’t gay, it just has a lot of gay friends
Well, according to Willis, the song isn’t actually gay at all. In a post to Facebook, the songwriter explained that the talk about “Y.M.C.A.” being a gay anthem “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.” I don’t know though… Those all sound like perfectly valid reasons to assume the song is gay to me. How can you come to any other conclusion?
“Y.M.C.A.” is a gay anthem through and through, and you can’t convince me otherwise. Next you’ll be telling me that Brokeback Mountain isn’t a romance, or that Willow and Tara from Buffy are just friends. It’s ridiculous, but Willis is in complete denial, claiming “you’d be hard-pressed to find Y.M.C.A. on the play list at any gay club, parade or other gay activity.” I don’t think this man has any idea what he’s talking about — one user on Reddit put it best: “Bro just slapped a “No homo” onto the gayest anthem there ever was. Pack it up, boys. YMCA isn’t gay now.”
Victor has even threatened legal action against outlets that claim the song is a gay anthem, so see y’all in jail, I guess. It’s weird that he’s only complaining about this now, after almost 50 years, but then again, the song has started making lots of money and climbed to #1 on the Billboard charts thanks to Trump’s use. I ain’t saying anything for certain, but it sounds like Willis saw dollar signs and decided to change his narrative to get that bag.
He also admits that YMCAs were typically used as gay hangouts, although he claims that he was unaware of this and this was not his intention when writing the song. But, assuming this is true, sometimes a creation will take on a life of its own, certain people gravitate towards certain shows, movies, or music regardless of the creator’s original intentions. Even if Willis didn’t write it as a gay anthem, it has since become one.
But that’s assuming Willis really didn’t realize he had written a gay song, which I find hard to believe. The topic is gay hangouts, the band have always been associated with homosexuality, with three of them confirmed to be homosexual, and they all dressed in over the top masculine outfits — but we’re the fools for assuming the song is gay? Give me a break. Willis is either the most ignorant and socially unaware man to ever live, or he’s straight up lying.