(Photo by Mario Casciano; from Wikimedia Commons)
Village People, a disco group known for their hit “Y.M.C.A.,” accepted an invitation to perform at President-elect Donald Trump’s second inauguration on Jan. 20. The group initially formed with nearly exclusively gay men in the 1970s and took inspiration from Manhattan’s Greenwich Village, which some refer to as the “gay village.”
A statement posted to the group’s Facebook page reads, “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 statement continues by recognizing that “Y.M.C.A.” is a global anthem that brings the country together despite the group’s preferred candidate losing the presidential race.
Comments underneath the statement demonstrate mixed opinions about the group’s decision to perform at Trump’s inauguration, whose administration argued against including sexual orientation in anti-discrimination laws during his first term.
“The people who made the original Village People famous are appalled at this. You have sold your souls,” one comment reads. Another comment supports the band’s decision, stating, “You have made the right decision, we need to bring Americans together, thanks again.”
Trump has consistently used the group’s songs “Y.M.C.A.” and “Macho Man” amidst his 2020 and 2024 presidential campaigns. This initially sparked an issue with the band and resulted in a cease-and-desist letter to the president-elect after a Village People tribute band performed at a Mar-a-Lago event in 2023. However, lead singer and founding band member Victor Willis later posted to Facebook that he had changed his mind about the group’s decision to pursue legal action against Trump after seeing how much he genuinely seemed to enjoy “Y.M.C.A.” and the joy the song brought to the American people.
Willis also fights against the song’s alleged reputation to some as a “gay anthem.” Just last month, the singer posted to Facebook, “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.” He continues with, “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 goes on to state that any news organization or headline that refers to “Y.M.C.A.” as a “gay anthem” is at risk of being sued by his wife, who is also the band’s manager.
“You’d be hard-pressed to find Y.M.C.A. on the playlist 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,” Willis states.
Country singers Carrie Underwood and Lee Greenwood will join Village People in welcoming Trump’s second presidential term. Opera singer Christopher Macchio will perform the National Anthem on inauguration day, and Billy Ray Cyrus and Kid Rock are said to be performing at his “victory rally” the night prior.
Underwood will perform “America the Beautiful.” In a statement, she said she is “humbled to answer the call at a time when we must all come together in the spirit of unity and looking to the future” in reference to her invitation to perform at the inauguration.
