Not So Fun at the 'YMCA' — Victor Willis Plans on Suing Those Calling Song a 'Gay Anthem'
The Village People's lead singer Victor Willis doubled down on associating the group's 1978 hit "YMCA" with the queer lifestyle by planning to take those who do so to court, and telling them to "get their minds out of the gutter".
In a statement on Facebook, an irate Willis writes "Come January 2025, 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."
The song has appeared to become "a gay anthem" over the years. "On the surface, it celebrates the merits of the Young Men's Christian Association, an august organization which had provided accommodation and recreational facilities since the 19th century," wrote the Financial Times earlier this year. "Given the cultural milieu that the song entered, though — that of disco and gay nightlife — it's been widely interpreted as a gay anthem. This is no great stretch for a song encouraging 'young men' to 'find many ways to have a good time'".
The Financial Times continued, citing Willis's role: "Willis claimed in 2017 that 'it was not written to be a gay song because of the simple fact I'm not gay,' but he has 'no qualms' that it's been adopted in this way. Given the band's overwhelming success within gay communities, however, they have attracted criticism for rejecting the song's homoerotic overtones. 'In order to get themselves on kids' lunch boxes, [the Village People] went along with the sexlessness that seems a precondition of gay male representation in pop culture,' writes professor Alice Echols in 'Hot Stuff: Disco and the Remaking of American Culture.' Nevertheless, the band became disco icons and have been credited with helping integrate gay culture into the mainstream."
Watch the video to "YMCA" by the Village People.
According to legal experts contacted by Billboard Magazine, Willis's law suit would likely go nowhere.
"Mr. Willis' threatened libel claim would be a nonstarter for numerous reasons," says Adam I. Rich, a music and free speech attorney at the law firm Davis Wright Tremaine.
"A court would almost certainly find that the label 'gay anthem' is nonactionable opinion, squarely protected by the First Amendment," says Rich, the media lawyer. "And regardless of what Mr. Willis now claims to have meant when he wrote it, he would bear the burden of proving that the song isn't a gay anthem — that is about as likely as a young man not having a fun time at the YMCA."
His opinion was seconded by another lawyer Billboard contacted, Dori Hanswirth, a First Amendment attorney at the law firm Arnold & Porter, who cited the Village People's "iconic status in the gay community" and the appearance of "a gay landmark in the music video" as reason enough to dismiss the suit.
"Calling 'Y.M.C.A.' a gay anthem is an opinion," Hanswirth says. "To the extent the reference is considered a factual statement rather than an opinion, it is probably true. And truth is a complete defense to any defamation claim."
"'YMCA' appeared on Village People's third album, 'Cruisin''. It was an international smash hit, getting to No 1 in 17 countries on its release in October 1978. A much-loved staple at sports events, wedding receptions and student discos, it has sold 12m copies. In 2020 it was preserved for posterity by the National Recording Registry of the US Library of Congress as 'culturally, historically or aesthetically significant', and inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame," reports the Guardian.
2020 was the year that Presidential candidate Donald Trump chose the song for his unofficial campaign rally song. This year, he showed his dance moves when the song played.
Today Willis claims that when we wrote the song queerest reference, the line "You can hang out with all the boys" is a reference to "1970s Black slang for Black guys hanging out together for sports, gambling or whatever. There's nothing gay about that."
But even in 1979, the Washington Post wrote at the time, the queer implications of the lyrics led to concern by some.
"Unfortunately, some people wondered about the lurking homosexual undertones of the lyrics," the newspaper noted. Among them were the organization for whom the songs acronym refers: The Young Men's Christian Association, who were concerned about copyright infringement of their name. "While claiming to be unconcerned with such implications, assistant general counsel to the National Board of the Bob Jenkins brought up the issue of registered trademarks. 'The only concern we have with the record,' Jenkins said, 'is that it may be an infringement of the copyright "Y.M.C.A.," which is registered with the U.S. Patent Office.' He went on to say that he had been 'in contact with Casablanca [Records] on this matter.'"
The song did become a cultural icon. According to its Wiki page: "In March 2020, the US Library of Congress added the song to its National Recording Registry, which preserves for posterity audio that is 'culturally, historically or aesthetically significant'. In December 2020, 'Y.M.C.A.' was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame."
Whether or not Willis wants queer associations with the group, a look at its history indicates their roots are intrinsically linked to queer culture. The Guardian puts it this way: "It is, however, undeniable that the Village People were put together in order to appeal to the burgeoning gay market as disco swept America in the late 70s. Their name comes from Greenwich Village, at that point New York's most vibrant gay neighborhood. In 1977, the French disco songwriter Jacques Morali made an album called Village People, on which Willis was the singer."
They add: "When it [the album] was a hit, Morali, who died of AIDS in 1991, recruited the band in New York gay clubs and via an ad which read: 'Macho Types Wanted: Must Dance And Have A Moustache.' He dressed them as fantasy gay male archetypes including a cowboy, leather man, cop, Native American and construction worker." It was cosplay before its time.
Then the Village People crossed over as disco hit its apex. The U.S. Navy even wanted to use their hit "In The Navy" as a recruitment song. They were offered permission by Henri Belolo, a record producer who formed the group along with Morali and Willis, if they would allow the group to use a real battleship to film the song's video. The Navy complied, and the group received access to the USS Reasoner, docked at the San Diego Naval base, to film the video on. The group also appeared with Bob Hope on a USO tour entertaining the troops. But their initial fame was short lived: An attempt to market them to movie audiences resulted in the disastrous "Can't Stop the Music," which won Worst Picture and Worst Screenplay at the first Razzie Awards.
By 1981, disco was dead. Attempts to reconfigure the group failed, and the group went on hiatus until 1987, when most of the original personnel regrouped and gained control of the name.
The group fared better in the 1990s, and by the early 2000s, the Village People were performing with Cher as part of her Farewell tour. In 2008 they received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2012, Willis won a landmark lawsuit concerning copyright ownership that recaptured copyrights including "Y.M.C.A.," "Go West," "Magic Night," "Milkshake," and "In the Navy." In a later suit, Willis reclaimed ownership of the songs he had written with Morali, and had Belolo removed from co-writing credits for "Y.M.C.A." Willis continued his legal wranglings concerning the group's complicated ownership, and in 2017 gained control over its name and personnel. He named himself its lead singer, then found all-new personnel to back him up. Today he remains the only active original member to perform in the group.
In discussing the group's queer roots and subtexts in their music, Alexander Briley (the original G.I.) told EDGE in a 2010 interview: "The group is and has always been comprised of gay and straight performers. The tongue-in-cheek image and characters portrayed by the group has always been open to interpretation by the audience. Family groups see the group as fun; gay groups see the group as gay icons."
And David Hodo, who was the group's second cowboy and was part of the groups' success during their first mainstream success, told Spin Magazine about the song's genesis: "It was 1977, and we were leaving a photography session on 23rd Street. Jacques Morali saw the big pink YMCA on 23rd and asked, 'What is this YMCA, anyway?' And after laughing at his accent, we told him the Y was a place where you could go when you first came to New York when you didn't have any money — you can stay there for very little. And of course, someone joked, 'Yeah, but don't bend over in the showers.' And Jacques, bless his heart, said, 'I will write a song about this!'"
But Randy Jones, the group's original cowboy, claims Hodo was "a bit off" in his recollection, saying that he worked out at the McBurney YMCA on 23rd Street and took Morali there a number of times, noting that the gay producer was impressed by meeting Jones' work-out buddies, many of whom worked in the porn industry.
Jones added: "It was not intended as a gay anthem. Do you have the lyrics in front of you? There's nothing gay about them. I think Victor wrote the words, but it's all a big fucking mystery." To which Hodo disagreed, telling Spin: "'Y.M.C.A.' certainly has a gay origin. That's what Jacques was thinking when he wrote it, because our first album [1977's 'Village People'] was possibly the gayest album ever. I mean, look at us. We were a gay group. So was the song written to celebrate gay men at the YMCA? Yes. Absolutely. And gay people love it."