Village People Singer Praises Trump For Boosting 'YMCA,' Rejects Song’s ‘Gay Anthem’ Label

In a lengthy note, Victor Willis explained why he changed his tune on the Republican's use of the 1978 disco classic.

One of the founding members of the Village People thanked President-elect Donald Trump this week for his continued use of the band’s 1978 disco classic “YMCA” at rallies and other events, while dismissing the long-held belief that the song is intended as an ode to LGBTQ+ empowerment.

On Monday, singer-songwriter Victor Willis shared a lengthy note on his official Facebook page in which he recalled how he’d initially asked Trump to stop playing “YMCA” after receiving more than 1,000 complaints from fans.

The president-elect’s team purportedly obtained a license to use “Y.M.C.A.” on the campaign trail, however, so Trump continued to play it. (In a statement to Billboard, RNC spokesperson Taylor Rogers noted that the campaign has the appropriate licenses from performing rights organizations BMI and ASCAP to play the music heard at the town hall in Oaks, Pa.)

After observing how much the president-elect “seems to genuinely like” the song and has been “having a lot of fun with it,” Willis said he “simply didn’t have the heart” to legally intervene.

That change of heart also came, he noted, after witnessing the “benefits” of the president-elect’s embrace of “YMCA” firsthand.