ℇ ⳨r∃Y“Y.M.C.A.” has often been labeled as a gay anthem, but it’s now a MAGA-rally hit. As Village People play at Trump’s inaugural events, here’s how they fit into Trump’s narrative.
During the 2016, 2020 and 2024 US presidential election campaigns, the list of musicians who voiced their opposition to their songs being used by Donald Trump was long, ranging from ABBA to the White Stripes, and — at some point — the Village People.
In June 2020, the band’s frontman, Victor Willis, publicly objected to the Trump campaign’s use of Village People songs at his rallies. Criticizing Trump’s threat to use military force against Black Lives Matter protesters, Willis then wrote on Facebook, “Sorry, but I can no longer look the other way.”
Money talks
But Willis later had a change of tune, noticing that “Y.M.C.A.” was enjoying renewed success during the 2024 campaign: As Trump kept using the iconic hit at his rallies, the 46-year-old track spent several weeks at the top of Billboard’s hottest-selling dance songs chart.
“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,” Willis acknowledged in a Facebook post in December 2024.
So now, the Village People are ready to look the other way, accepting an invitation from the president-elect’s team to perform at several inauguration events, including a final victory rally held on Sunday evening before Inauguration Day.
“We know this won’t make some of you happy to hear, however we believe that music is to be performed without regard to politics,” the band wrote in a statement posted on their official Facebook page as they announced their participation. “Our song ‘Y.M.C.A.’ is a global anthem that hopefully helps bring the country together after a tumultuous and divided campaign where our preferred candidate lost. Therefore, we believe it’s now time to bring the country together with music.”
https://www.dw.com/en/donald-trump-village-people-gay-connection/a-71313815