Original 'YMCA' Singer Explains Why He Let Trump Use the Song, Answers 'Gay Anthem' Claims

Victor Willis, the lead singer and lyricist of the Village People, opened up about why he permitted President-elect Donald Trump to continue using the iconic song “Y.M.C.A.” at rallies. Additionally, he addressed the widespread belief that the track is a "gay anthem."

In a Facebook post on Monday, Willis clarified his role in creating the 1978 disco hit, emphasizing that he “wrote 100 percent of the lyrics,” while the late French producer Jacques Morali composed the music.

“Since 2020, I’ve received over a thousand complaints about President Elect Trump’s use of Y.M.C.A. With that many complaints, I decided to ask the President Elect to stop using Y.M.C.A. because his use had become a nuisance to me,” Willis explained in his post.

However, he acknowledged, “the use continued because the Trump campaign knew they had obtained a political use license from BMI, and absent that license being terminated, they had every right to continue using Y.M.C.A. And they did.” BMI oversees licensing and performance rights for music.

When other musicians began barring Trump from using their songs, Willis revealed that he had a different perspective. He told his wife, who also manages the Village People, that Trump seemed to have a genuine appreciation for “Y.M.C.A.”

“As such, I simply didn’t have the heart to prevent his continued use of my song in the face of so many artists withdrawing his use of their material,” he wrote. “So I told my wife to inform BMI to not withdraw the Trump campaign political use license.”

Willis also shared that Morali’s French collaborators, who control part of the song’s rights, chose not to intervene.

According to Willis, Trump’s use of the song has brought significant financial and cultural benefits. “Y.M.C.A. has benefited greatly from use by the President Elect,” he noted, recalling that the song originally peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in February 1979. “However, the song finally made it to #1 on a Billboard chart after over 45 years (and held on to #1 for two weeks) due to the President Elect’s use.”

Yahoo Entertainment reported that as the 2020 election drew near, “Y.M.C.A.” surged in popularity, climbing the charts and hitting No. 1 on the Billboard Digital Song Sales chart for the week of Nov. 17. The song’s resurgence was bolstered by the viral dance moves Trump performed to it during his campaign.

“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 stated. “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.”

Willis also took the opportunity to dispel the long-standing notion that “Y.M.C.A.” is a “gay anthem.”

“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,” Willis wrote. He attributed this misconception to the fact that his co-writer, Morali, was gay, and that the Village People included both gay and straight members. Additionally, some interpreted the YMCA as a known gay hangout at the time.

“This assumption is also based on the fact that the YMCA was apparently being used as some sort of gay hangout…[therefore] the song must be a message to gay people,” he wrote, dismissing the idea. “To that I say once again, get your minds out of the gutter. It is not.”

Willis clarified that phrases like “hang out with all the boys” were inspired by “1970s black slang” referring to men gathering for activities like sports or gambling, not as an expression of gay culture. “There’s nothing gay about that,” he asserted.

He argued that labeling “Y.M.C.A.” a gay anthem is “defamatory” and “damaging to the song.” Willis concluded by emphasizing the song’s universal message: “The true anthem is Y.M.C.A.’s appeal to people of all [stripes], including President Elect Trump.”