Village People singer and writer of the song YMCA, Victor Willis, wants everyone to know that the song isn’t a Gay Anthem

Victor Willis, the lead singer and songwriter for the Village People’s iconic hit “YMCA,” has been vocal lately about one thing: the song isn’t a gay anthem. According to Willis, the track was never meant to be a celebration of LGBTQ+ culture, despite decades of association with Pride parades, dance clubs, and general rainbow-colored revelry.

Village People singer, YMCA writer, Victor Willis on Facebook:

Village People singer Victor Willis on Facebook:

"WHY I ALLOWED PRESIDENT ELECT TRUMP’S CONTINUED USE OF Y.M.C.A. AND WHY THE SONG IS NOT REALLY A GAY ANTHEM

To Village People fans and the media:

I am the singer and writer of the lyrics to the hit Y.M.C.A. In fact, as was… pic.twitter.com/rbonjHrEQe

— Wojciech Pawelczyk (@WojPawelczyk) December 3, 2024

Village People singer and writer of the song YMCA, Victor Willis on Facebook:

“WHY I ALLOWED PRESIDENT ELECT TRUMP’S CONTINUED USE OF Y.M.C.A. AND WHY THE SONG IS NOT REALLY A GAY ANTHEM 

To Village People fans and the media: I am the singer and writer of the lyrics to the hit Y.M.C.A.  In fact, as was adjudicated and ruled in a U.S. District Court, I wrote 100% of the lyrics, and my writing partner, Jacques Morali wrote 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 YMCA because his use had become a nuisance to me. 

However, 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. In fact, I started noticing numerous artists withdrawing the President Elect’s use of their material. But by the time I said to my wife one day, hey, “Trump” seems to genuinely like YMCA and he’s having a lot of fun with it.   

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. So I told my wife to inform BMI to not withdraw the Trump campaign political use license. My French partners were contemplating legal action out of France. So I had my wife contact our French partners and asked them to stay out of the Trump campaign’s use of YMCA because it is a U.S. matter, and I will make the decision on his use. Our French partners quickly backed off of their objection to his use. YMCA has benefited greatly from use by the President Elect.  For example, YMCA was stuck at #2 on the Billboard chart prior to the President Elect’s use.  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.   

The financial benefits have been great as well as 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 Y.M.C.A. And I thank him for choosing to use my song.       

There’s been a lot of talk, especially of late, that YMCA 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 was gay, and some (not all) of Village People were gay, and that the first Village People album was totally about gay life. 

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.

Sadly, when the President Elect started using the song, people attempting to brand the song as a gay anthem reached a fever pitch as many used it to say, oh, Trump don’t know the song is a gay anthem?  This was done in a manner to attempt to shame the President Elect’s use of the song.   As I stated on numerous occasions, I knew nothing about the Y being a hang out for gays when I wrote the lyrics to YMCA and Jacques Morali (who was gay) never once stated such to me. In fact, Jacques never once told me how to write my lyrics otherwise I would have said to him, you don’t need me, why don’t you simply write the lyrics.     

I therefore wrote YMCA 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. 

So, to the extent that YMCA is considered a gay anthem based on the fact that gays once used certain YMCA’s for elicit activity, the assumption that the song alludes to that is completely misguided. 

Therefore, since I wrote the lyrics and ought to know what the lyrics I wrote is really about, come January 2025, my wife will start suing each and every news organization that falsely refers to Y.M.C.A., 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 elicit activity for which it does not. However, I don’t mind that gays think of the song as their anthem. But you’d be hard-pressed to find YMCA on the play list at any gay club, parade or other gay activity in a way that would suggest it’s somehow an anthem to the community other than alluding to illicit activity, which is defamatory, and damaging to the song. But it stops in 2025.   

However, you know where you-will find YMCA? On the play list of almost every wedding, bar mitzvah, sporting organization, and the song is used in commercials and motion pictures and products worldwide.   The true anthem is YMCA’s appeal to people of all strips including President Elect Trump. But the song 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.” 

(December 2, 2024)

I know what you’re thinking and don’t worry, I have you covered:

Basically, Victor Willis wants you to know that the YMCA song isn’t a gay anthem

Couple things…

How ridiculously gay long is that post? I mean seriously, did we have to write a novel to let everyone know that YYMCA, a song that was released in 1978, wasn’t actually a gay song? Victor Wills wrote the the damn song. We don’t need a novel or explanation as to why you let Donald Trump use it as his anthem. I don’t know if the Village People still have PR help, but the explanation could have easily been the following:

“Hello. My name is Victor Willis. I wrote YMCA The song is not a gay anthem. Trump can play the song as much as he wants because nearly 50 years later, I’m still collecting a paycheck from it and in this economy, every penny counts. Thank you. God Bless America.”

Wasn’t that hard to make that statement.

I’m really not even sure who’s out there discussing if YMCA is a gay anthem and I politics aside, I have no clue why anyone gives a shit if Donald Trump is playing the song at campaign rallies.

I guess there were members of the Village People that were gay and one of their albums was super gay which is totally fine with me, but the point still stands.

Who’s questioning the sexuality of the Y.M.C.A song in 2024 and why don’t those people have anything better to do with their lives? Who gives a shit. I listen to all types of music and never once did I even think about the sexuality of the song itself or anyone who wrote or performed it. 

Plus, the Y.M.C.A? Definitely not gay.

I haven’t been to one since I was a kid but last time I checked, it’s just a cool place where people can go, exercise, shoot some hoops, and do literally anything besides debate on the internet whether or not the song about the YMCA is gay or not. 

Here’s an idea. If you don’t like the song, maybe just remove it from your Spotify playlist and keep it moving? Why are you on the internet complaining about it and forcing poor Victor Willis to release a statement longer than an encyclopedia to prove that the song wasn’t gay to begin with? 

Side Note: If you are playing the song on Apple Music, I heard it might actually turn you gay so listeners beware. 

(Kidding. Kind of)

Anyways, I’m sure everyone will be real happy about this post. No one can laugh about things anymore and it’s really killing my creative juices but much like Victor Willis, that ends as he inch closer to 2025. I have been pretty much right about everything I’ve ever stated on social media or this website (that I own) so it’s not like I’m out here saying anything that’s completely crazy.

You might think it’s crazy and offensive but that’s on you. I have no problem with the YMCA song, place, or anyone involved with writing it. I’m just out here trying to spread the good word that the song doesn’t want to be gay. If anything, I should be considered an activist to set the story straight and NOT whatever you’re going to label me after reading this article.

Again, I really don’t think it’s that big of a deal regardless, however Victor Willis should clean up his messaging. It appears he wants everyone to stop falsely suggesting the the song is gay because it’s damaging to the music but I think that directly impacts his first message of not caring if the song was gay or not in the first place, right? 

Whatever.

I think it’s perfectly fine to suggest that the only thing gay here is people questioning whether or not YMCA is a gay song- not that there’s anything wrong with that.

Join The Chase