General Discussion

In a statement sent to Billboard on Tuesday morning, Village People co-founder, “Y.M.C.A.” lyricist and one of the owners of the song’s copyright Victor Willis responded to Trump’s use of their anthem, writing, “I have been inundated with hundreds of complaints from the public and press about Donald Trump and his campaign’s use of my song,” he said. “Me, and the Village People as well, have in the past opposed Trump’s use of ‘Y.M.C.A.’ and we have made this very clear to him.”

Willis continued, “But, he has continued to use the song because he’s legally entitled to do so because he took the time to apply for a political use license, which was granted by my performance rights organization, BMI. Could I have asked my wife, who’s a lawyer, to have BMI revoke his political use license… yes.” But Willis said he decided not to because Trump’s repeated use has “greatly benefitted” the song, which he said shot it to No. 2 on Billboard’s digital chart.

“So, we decided to no longer oppose his use until the end of the presidential campaign,” Willis said. “Some fans are demanding that I sue. I am not going to sue the President over his use of ‘Y.M.C.A.’ because it’s stupid and just plain hateful. Though I don’t dislike Trump, I am a registered Democrat who supports Kamala Harris for President.” He said Harris is also free to play the song if she wants to.