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The songwriter of the Village People’s hit song “Y.M.C.A.” spoke out on Monday against the idea that the song is a “gay anthem,” and threatened to sue news outlets in January that continue to describe it as such.

The song has seen a surge in popularity after President-elect Donald Trump used the music to dance to at his campaign rallies. Trump has been playing the song since 2020.

Victor Willis, who wrote the song’s lyrics, defended Trump’s use of the music at his rallies and said he asked the former president to stop using it because his use became a “nuisance,” after Willis received over a thousand complaints about it, NBC News reported. But Willis said Trump obtained a political use license for the song which gives him the legal right to play it, and Willis decided not to pull the license. 

The songwriter also noted that there has been an increase in sales of the music since Trump started playing the song more regularly at his rallies. Trump’s dancing to the song has gone viral, and even inspired mimicry from professional athletes, including players in the NFL.

“For example, Y.M.C.A. was stuck at #2 on the Billboard chart prior to the President Elect’s use,” Willis wrote in a Facebook post on Monday. “However, the song finally made it to #1 on a Billboard chart after over 45 years (and held on to #1 for two weeks) due to the President Elect’s use.”

Willis also rejected claims that the 1970s disco song was intended as a “gay anthem” and said he wrote it about what he knew about the Y.M.C.A. at the time.

“When I say, ‘hang out with all the boys’ that is simply 1970s black slang for black guys hanging-out together for sports, gambling or whatever. There’s nothing gay about that,” Willis wrote in the post.

The songwriter said that the song’s reputation as a gay anthem could have been sparked by the fact that multiple members of the band were gay, and that the group’s first album was about the gay lifestyle. 

Willis said he was not offended that gay people have embraced the song, but warned people not to make assumptions. News outlets who do label it a “gay anthem” could start facing legal action in January.

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just the News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.