Village People’s hit YMCA’s true meaning as ‘gay icons’ perform at Trump inauguration

The Village People’s hit Y. M. C. A. has become the track of Donald Trump’s second inauguration, yet the meaning may not be what it seems.

The band will perform alongside Nelly, Carrie Underwood, Kid Rock, Billy Ray Cyrus and Jason Aldean at the US Capitol as Trump gets sworn in again. They joined Trump on stage hours before his inauguration as they closed his victory rally in Washington D. C and performed Y. M. C. A. alongside him.

Their 1978 disco track was long considered to be an anthem for the LGBTQ+ community and the band was founded by two French music producers who were inspired by the scene at a gay club in New York City. Village People frontman Victor Willis, who is the only original member left in the band, previously spoke out against Trump using the track yet has had a change of heart.

The band had hits with other songs Macho Man, In the Navy and Go West, with lyrics that touched on the gay lifestyle. However, Victor has insisted Y. M. C. A. has nothing to do with the gay scene and insists it is not a gay anthem. The key line “You can hang out with all the boys” was widely interpreted at the time as being a euphemism for gay hookups in the charity’s gyms and swimming pools.

Victor explained the line is “simply 1970s Black slang for Black guys hanging out together for sports, gambling or whatever. There’s nothing gay about that. ” The song, which has sold some 12million copies, earned a new fanbase after Trump adopted it. The group wasn’t always so happy with Trump using the track as manager Karen Willis sent Trump’s legal team a cease-and-desist letter two years ago.

It came after he was filmed dancing to the band’s hit Macho Man at Mar-a-Lago. However, singer Victor has since changed his tune with the onset of publicity. He shared: “The financial benefits have been great… YMCA is estimated to gross several million dollars since the President Elect’s continued use of the song. Therefore, I’m glad I allowed the President Elect’s continued use of YMCA. And I thank him for choosing to use my song. ”

In his Facebook post, Victor added: “Come January 2025, my wife will start suing each and every news organisation that falsely refers to YMCA, either in their headlines or alluded to in the base of the story, that YMCA is somehow a gay anthem because such notion is based solely on the song’s lyrics alluding to [illicit] activity, for which it does not. ”

The Village People have faced backlash online about them performing at Trump’s inauguration. They decided to hit back in a statement and said: “We are announcing today that VILLAGE PEOPLE have accepted an invitation from President Elect Trump’s campaign to participate in inaugural activities, including at least one event with President Elect Trump. We know this wont make some of you happy to hear however we believe that music is to be performed without regard to politics. “

They said 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. ” There’s a long list of award-winning performers who have refused to lend Trump their music such as Beyonce, Celine Dion, Isaac Hayes’ Family and Bruce Springsteen.

Follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTubeand Threads.

Source: Mirror