A singer from the Village People has revealed the real meaning behind 'Y.M.C.A.' lyrics as people may have misunderstood it this entire time.
It's Donald Trump's inauguration today (20 January) and the iconic disco band, along with many other music artists, have been invited to perform at the ceremony.
The Village People, which is currently comprised of Victor Willis, Javier Perez, James Kwong, Nicholas Manelick, James Lee, and James J.J. Lippold, are best known for their smash-hits including 'Macho Man', 'In the Navy', 'Go West', and 'Y.M.C.A.'.
Willis, who is the only original member still remaining in the American group, took to Facebook last Monday (13 January) to announce the news that the band would be performing at the inauguration writing: "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."
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Responding to the backlash from 'disappointed' fans, he stated: "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."
"Our song '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," Victor added, referring to Democrat, Kamala Harris.
The statement ended: "Therefore, we believe it's now time to bring the country together with music which is why VILLAGE PEOPLE will be performing at various events as part of the 2025 Inauguration of Donald J. Trump."
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Willis has also put out a statement regarding the popular disco track, 'Y.M.C.A.' being referred to as a 'gay anthem'.
According to Willis, who wrote the lyrics to the 1978 smash hit, it is far from a 'gay anthem' and is totally heterosexual.
Willis went as far as to suggest that anyone claiming otherwise should 'get their minds out of the gutter'.
"There’s been a lot of talk, especially of late, that Y.M.C.A. is somehow a gay anthem," Willis wrote in a Facebook post. "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.
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"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."
"Come January 2025," Willis added. "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 elicit [sic] activity for which it does 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."
One of the song's key lines, 'You can hang out with all the boys', was considered a euphemism for gay hookups in the charity’s gyms and swimming pools.
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However, Victor maintains this is far from a 'gay anthem' and is 'simply 1970s Black slang for Black guys hanging out together for sports, gambling or whatever'.
"There’s nothing gay about that," he added in a statement posted on Facebook.
Topics: Donald Trump, Music, Politics, US News, Celebrity
Rhiannon Ingle