Y.M.C.A. writer says song is not a ‘gay anthem’ and supports Trump’s use at rallies
People "must stop" calling Y.M.C.A. a gay anthem "because it is damaging to the song," Victor Willis has said, adding that people should "get your minds out of the gutter" for believing it is about "elicit [sic] activity"
By Dale Fox
A founding member of the Village People has asserted that the group’s classic song Y.M.C.A. is not a gay anthem, and that he supports US President-elect Donald Trump using it at election rallies after initially objecting.
In a lengthy Facebook post, Victor Willis, who is straight, said people should “get your minds out of the gutter” for believing that the song is about “elicit [sic] activity” at YMCA accommodations.
“There’s been a lot of talk, especially of late, that Y.M.C.A. is somehow a gay anthem. As I’ve said numerous times in the past, that is a false assumption based on the fact that my writing partner [Jacques Morali] was gay, and some (not all) of Village People were gay, and that the first Village People album was totally about gay life,” Willis said, also pointing out that he “wrote 100% of the lyrics.”
He added: “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 continued: “I … wrote Y.M.C.A. about the things I knew about the Y in the urban areas of San Francisco such as swimming, basketball, track, and cheap food and cheap rooms. And when I say, ‘hang out with all the boys’ that is simply 1970s black slang for black guys hanging-out together for sports, gambling or whatever. There’s nothing gay about that.”
He furthermore said that Y.M.C.A. “is not really a gay anthem other than certain people falsely suggesting that it is. And this must stop because it is damaging to the song.”
Trump “seems to genuinely like Y.M.C.A. and he’s having a lot of fun with it”
Y.M.C.A. has been a frequent fixture at Donald Trump’s election rallies, with the now President-elect seen moving along to the song on a number of occasions, including with Elon Musk at a recent Thanksgiving event at his Mar-a-Lago residence.
Talking about Trump’s use of the track, Willis said he initially objected to it and asked the Trump campaign to stop using it in 2020. But he later “didn’t have the heart to prevent his continued use of my song” as Trump “seems to genuinely like Y.M.C.A. and he’s having a lot of fun with it.”
“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,” he added. “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.”
The songwriter added that the Trump Campaign had also obtained a “political use license from BMI” which legally allowed it to use the song.
Main image credit: Flickr/tonynetone, licensed under CC BY 2.0.