The Village People to Fans Enraged at Trump Using Their Music: 'Everyone is Entitled to Do the YMCA Dance'

Every now and then we see a “Musician Condemns Republican for Using Music at Rally” story. It’s the same thing every time: Some GOP politician will use a popular song to entertain a crowd, legally and above board, and the musician who originally performed the song will panic that anybody might think they like the Republicans. The musician blasts out an angry tweet and/or press release, all the “news” outlets cover it without noting that the Republican used the song legally, and the musician signals his or her virtue to avoid getting #cancelled. Almost always, the musician hasn’t had a hit in years and should be glad for the publicity. It’s all very boring by this point.

That’s why today I doff my cowboy hat, my Indian headdress, and my motorcycle cop helmet to disco legends the Village People for telling the plain, simple, boring truth. Brooke Seipel, The Hill:

The Village People defended President Trump’s use of their songs “Macho Man” and “Y.M.C.A.” at rallies and in India this week after a flood of complaints from fans.

“We have received numerous requests demanding that we prevent or ban President Donald Trump’s use of our songs, particularly ‘Y.M.C.A.’ and ‘Macho Man,’ the iconic 70’s disco group wrote in a Facebook post on Monday. “Since our music is not being used for a specific endorsement, the President’s use is ‘perfect[ly]’ legal…”

“Like millions of Village People fans worldwide, the President and his supporters have shown a genuine like for our music,” the Facebook post continued. “Our music is all-inclusive and certainly everyone is entitled to do the YMCA dance, regardless of their political affiliation.

Note that the band is neither endorsing nor condemning Trump or any other politician. This is just a simple statement of fact.

What a refreshing change from tedious nonsense like this, from the bassist for REM:

We are aware that the President* @realDonaldTrump continues to use our music at his rallies. We are exploring all legal avenues to prevent this, but if that’s not possible please know that we do not condone the use of our music by this fraud and con man.

— Mike Mills ❄️💨⛄️ (@m_millsey) January 15, 2020

Yes, yes, we get it, you hate him. Go ahead, it’s a free country. There’s nothing you can do about politicians using your music legally, but whine all you want if you think it signals your virtue. Everybody hurts… sometimes.