YMCA Village People at battle over determination to carry out track at Trump inauguration
The modern-day Village People has ‘nothing to do with the group that I was a part of’, ex-member Jim Newman said after the band performed at a number of Trump’s inaugural events
The Village People are at war over the decision to perform YMCA for Donald Trump.
Former group member Jim Newman has a need to feel down as he said the modern-day version of the band has “nothing to do with the group that I was a part of”. Singer and songwriter Victor Willis, 73, is the only original member still involved with the outfit, which performed at several of Trump’s inaugural events.
The 1978 hit has become an unofficial anthem for the US President, who was seen dancing alongside the disco band at a rally last Sunday. Newman said that singing the song for the Orange Manbaby, which is widely considered a gay anthem, is a ‘slap in the face’ for its supporters who “made us who we are today”.
He fumed: “The Village People that were around for about 40 years had a strong, loyal gay following. Our Village People would never, ever perform at a Trump rally.
“We would never give him the right to use those songs, and we would never slap the face of the strong, especially gay audience, that made us who we are today.”
The musician, who performed as the group’s cowboy in “cow print cowhide chaps”, argued the band is now an “entirely separate entity” than the version he was in.
He added: “It’s sad to watch what has happened to the Village People brand.”
Willis was one of the band’s founding members, before leaving in the 1980s and later rejoining in 2017 following legal battles. After securing rights to the band name and characters, he resumed his lead singer role and returned with a new group of singers.
Willis has denied that the classic disco track is a gay anthem and people should “get their minds out of the gutter”.
He once tried to stop Trump using the group’s music but later embraced it and admitted the “financial benefits have been great”.
The hitmaker said: “I thank him for choosing to use my song.”
He insisted the decision to perform over the weekend was not “an endorsement” of his policies, adding the band had voted for Democratic candidate Kamala Harris. Willis said he hope it would “bring the country together”.
Founding member Felipe Rose, 71, who performed as a Native American and left in 2017, said he thought Trump dances “like a big baby” to YMCA. He revealed he has received threats over his former bandmate’s decision to perform for Trump.
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