Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

The Village People Just Gave Trump the OK to Use Their Songs at His Events, and Fans Are Not Happy

The Village People Just Gave Trump the OK to Use Their Songs at His Events, and Fans Are Not Happy
Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images // Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Since the disco era of the 70s, the Village People have been a mainstay on dance floors, in arenas, and virtually every other gathering.

You'd be hard-pressed to find a person who doesn't know the YMCA dance or the chorus to Macho Man.

Even President Donald Trump has used their songs in his rallies—most recently on his visit to India, where over 100,000 people watched the President enter to Macho Man, much to the glee of his supporters.


Watch below.

Though enjoyed by everyone today, the Village People share a particularly special relationship with their LGBTQ fans. The band made its career by marketing to gay men with unapologetic homoeroticism and panache. Even the song YMCA was implicitly understood by fans at the time of its release to be about cruising for gay sex in a sauna (YMCAs were popular cruising grounds for decades until the 1980s).

So it's easy to understand why fans were disappointed when, after they asked the band to discourage Trump from using their music at his rallies, the Village People responded with this Facebook post.

[facebook https://www.facebook.com/RealVillagePeople/posts/1386463228220950?__xts__[0]=68.ARCWyGKTDkxgs3biwldPU_AT0ONsqCs3OhA0-q4bOZFcDixEfe92NcP7BvvFES6wXP0TKzoGt5ohpVlISnevUBPWv0KilSwnw4kRIIMQbFKSh9Cck8nfqSYv8E3HqMiJwxJehJJI4IwX3LdaWFU45VKQlOQv9TldLGnprSzxbJpvIxDo8m35fVe1gexrNj-hHGF2NYeWohwB5lJ9elftftYg4ILK-RRPbQK_RmVBtaYL_b3U9_UN49sUjYPR5a_8tg1brY7HKQ8XWDlhlLEaoygzOIsdqAWrE4RM6rDJ4YjXB2CVLN5Pz0xmaoFGzoU4kfeM4DuNlb_bjSBKZqVwmTk8zw&__tn__=-R expand=1]

The band said they wouldn't discourage Trump from using his songs at their rallies, because he wasn't using the song as an endorsement.

Some fans, however, disagreed.




In most cases— as the Rolling Stones learned—Trump rallies are open to the public, so there isn't a legal foothold for an artist to forbid him from simply playing music at a public event.

That hasn't stopped artists like Rihanna, Axl Rose, R.E.M., and Prince's estate from publicly condemning the use of their music at Trump's rallies.

People were intrigued at why such an anti-LGBTQ administration and its supporters were such fans of the Village People.

It's something that's confounded people since long before Trump's rally in India




One devout Spotify user compiled a playlist of songs whose artists condemned Trump for playing their music at his rallies. You can listen to Hard Pass, Mr. President below.


Sadly, the Village People won't be on it.


More from News/lgbtq

Screenshot of Stephen Colbert
CBS

Stephen Colbert Makes Somber Plea To Americans In Wake Of Charlie Kirk's Death

Late-night host Stephen Colbert had a somber message for Americans as he addressed the assassination of far-right activist Charlie Kirk, stressing that "political violence only leads to more political violence."

Kirk died after an unidentified gunman shot him in the neck as he—ironically enough—mocked victims of gun violence at an event in Utah Valley State University. Kirk's murder has galvanized the far-right, with President Donald Trump and his surrogates claiming without evidence that rhetoric from Democrats is responsible for Kirk's death.

Keep ReadingShow less
a woman sunbathing on rocks.
a person sitting on a towel on a beach
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

People Share The Weirdest Flexes They Heard Someone Say With A Straight Face

It is never attractive to gloat.

Even so, some people can't help but brag, or "flex" as it is sometimes known, about certain accomplishments or attributes.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @thedowntheredoc's TikTok video
@thedowntheredoc/TikTok

TikToker Hilariously Calls Out Target After Champion Pants Feature Awkwardly-Placed Front Pleat

Sometimes you can just tell when something was designed *for* women, but was not actually designed *by* women.

Take, for instance, the new pleated pants available at Target from the Champion clothing line. While there's nothing wrong with pleated pants and they certainly have a suitable spot in the workplace, the latest rendition of Champion pleated pants are, shall we say, NSFW.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @kaicutch's Instagram video
@kaicutch/Instagram

Woman Flips Her Car After Belting Out Ironic Britney Spears Lyric In Wild Viral Video

Whether we want to admit it or not, we've all had our fair share of carpool karaoke and maybe even imagined our car as our own personal recording studio.

But TikToker and Instagrammer Kaitlynn McCutcheon may have gotten too into her performance of Britney Spears' classic, "Hit Me Baby, One More Time," when the road and her car both said, "Bet."

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from ​@lynnshazeen's TikTok video
@lynnshazeen/TikTok

Woman Goes Viral After Revealing How Her Obsession With Matcha Landed Her In The Hospital

Let's be honest: Too much of anything isn't good for us. It's all about the balance!

But the media and social media trends have taught us that certain things are really good for us, encouraging us to be like the "very mindful and very demure" girls and take care of ourselves. One such example is drinking more matcha, especially if you really like coffee or think you have a caffeine addiction.

Keep ReadingShow less