MAGAts steal the super-gay anthem Y.M.C.A. to prove how manly they are
As you may have heard by now, the “Village People” (and I use that term loosely here) performed the infamous gay anthem “Y.M.C.A.” at a recent Trump victory rally. (Ugh, it gives me shivers just to say that.) And I’ve seen several creators talking about how the Village People have betrayed us.
But there’s something you should know, Poodles: This was not my Village People performing, and certainly not the Village People we all drunkenly danced to at countless weddings, desperately trying to contort our bodies into the Y, the M, the C, and the A.
No, my children, this is a group of men who banded together to steal the legacy of our beloved band and reimagine it for their own purposes. Or, more accurately, for the purpose of one man: Victor Willis.
Now, it is true that Willis is a founding member of the band and co-author of “Y.M.C.A.” But that is the extent of the authenticity of this sham group that performed for Trump.
Willis left the group in 1980 but returned in 2017 after successfully suing for and winning the rights to one-third of the songs he co-wrote for the group, as well as the name “Village People.” This, Poodles, is when the remaining original group members left. Since then, Willis has assembled a new group of men, touring the country and performing under the name “Village People.”
Further, he holds firm to the claim that “Y.M.C.A.” is not a gay anthem, going so far as to threaten to sic his lawyer wife, Karen Willis, on any news organization claiming that it is.
To be fair, Willis says that what he had in mind when writing the song were the urban areas of San Francisco and that the line “hang out with all the boys” was simply 70s slang “for Black guys hanging out together for sports, gambling, or whatever.”
However: The lady doth protest too much, methinks.
The group was definitely gay, regardless of the members’ sexual orientation or the “intentions” they had when writing their songs. Jacques Morali, one of the producers and founders, is quoted as referring to the band as “an act made up of amusingly dressed homosexual stereotypes, to write disco songs spoofing homosexual fantasies.”
So, unfortunately, Poodles, the “New Village People” is not the band we remember and love. And it’s painful to watch a group of vile MAGAts strip us of our hard-won rights while dancing to one of our beloved GAY ANTHEMS. But this is the reality we live in now, and there are bigger battles to fight.
Stay strong, dearies, and fight on. And maybe it’s time to find a new gay anthem to cheer us on. DM me with suggestions—Mamma is listening.
