this post was submitted on 03 Dec 2024
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[–] juliebean@lemm.ee 279 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)

why would he do that?

he stands to make “several million dollars” due to Trump’s continued use of the song.

oh, right.

[–] ilinamorato@lemmy.world 111 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

Ha. That implies that Trump would ever pay him anything.

[–] ShaggySnacks@lemmy.myserv.one 25 points 3 weeks ago

Surely, Trump won’t stiff me with the bill.

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[–] MataVatnik@lemmy.world 62 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I cried all the way to the bank

Liberace after winning a libel suit against a news paper calling him a homosexual

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberace_v_Daily_Mirror

[–] SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world 13 points 3 weeks ago

He's saying anything for a dollar. I can almost respect his dedication.

[–] DarkFuture@lemmy.world 17 points 3 weeks ago

Selling out. It's the American way.

[–] Nougat@fedia.io 165 points 3 weeks ago (4 children)

TIL that Victor Willis of The Village People is a fascist.

[–] MataVatnik@lemmy.world 94 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

"You have to understand, I'm set up to make millions from this song"

[–] Nougat@fedia.io 87 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Only if Trump pays for using it.

[–] Tar_alcaran@sh.itjust.works 39 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)
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[–] Snowclone@lemmy.world 42 points 3 weeks ago (7 children)

You'll come to find many people you would have never suspected are OK with fascism, when it makes them rich.

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[–] shalafi@lemmy.world 106 points 3 weeks ago (11 children)

My step-son was 11 and constantly singing YMCA.

"Look, I don't want to freak you out, but in case you get made fun of at school, YMCA is a gay anthem. No problem with that, but you should know."

He was horrified, so he started singing "I Will Survive" instead. I just didn't have the heart to tell him.

[–] MataVatnik@lemmy.world 28 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)

Where is he learning his songs from?

[–] residentmarchant@lemmy.world 73 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

The fluoride in the tap water

[–] MataVatnik@lemmy.world 31 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)
[–] raynethackery@lemmy.world 18 points 3 weeks ago

Hello my baby, hello my honey, hello my ragtime gal...

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[–] intensely_human@lemm.ee 16 points 3 weeks ago

The oracle has spoken

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[–] MataVatnik@lemmy.world 93 points 3 weeks ago (7 children)

The more I read the funnier it gets

As for the idea that “Y.M.C.A. is “somehow a gay anthem,” Willis said that “is a false assumption based on the fact that my writing partner was gay, and some (not all) of Village People were gay, and that the first Village People album was totally about gay

“This assumption is also based on the fact that the YMCA was apparently being used as some sort of gay hangout and since one of the writers was gay and some of the Village People are gay, the song must be a message to gay people. To that I say once again, get your minds out of the gutter. It is not.

...

I therefore wrote ‘Y.M.C.A.’ about the things I knew about the Y in the urban areas of San Francisco such as swimming, basketball, track, and cheap food and cheap rooms. And 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.

[–] EleventhHour@lemmy.world 124 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (2 children)

“As a straight member of a gay band, I totally didn’t get the point of the gay song I wrote for my gay band”

[–] MataVatnik@lemmy.world 67 points 3 weeks ago

I'm not gay I just like hanging out with the boys

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[–] minnow@lemmy.world 85 points 3 weeks ago (4 children)

I hate him saying "get your mind out of the gutter" as if even thinking about people who are gay is itself a perverted sexual act.

Gay people exist. Acknowledging this and discussing whether a piece of media is directed at them is not "mind in gutter" stuff.

I don't want to go so far as to say this person is homophobic, but it sure does sound like some internalized homophobia, perhaps.

[–] AllNewTypeFace@leminal.space 37 points 3 weeks ago

He knows the audience he’s playing to

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[–] octopus_ink@lemmy.ml 42 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

I can reluctantly believe that is true (despite the laughable first paragraph where he gives example after example about why such "assumptions" are reasonable) - but he's old enough to know that once an artist puts art out into the world, their interpretation of it is no longer the only one.

The song IS a gay anthem even if it wasn't written that way.

edit - they the

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[–] TropicalDingdong@lemmy.world 68 points 3 weeks ago (6 children)

Its not "a" gay anthem.

Its the gay anthem. FTFY.

[–] shalafi@lemmy.world 18 points 3 weeks ago

"I Will Survive"?

[–] growsomethinggood@reddthat.com 14 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)

Not anymore, we're doing HOT TO GO now!

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[–] EndOfLine@lemmy.world 47 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

WOW! Not much in the news has shocked and surprised me as much as this article has.

Victor Willis says he will take legal action against any news organization that suggest "Y.M.C.A." is a gay anthem beginning in January 2025

I'm really curious to know what legal action he intends to take. Doesn't he have to show some sort of damages for any hope of not throwing his money away on frivolous lawsuits that will go nowhere?

[–] ricecake@sh.itjust.works 16 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

He does, but it can also be things like reputation damage or "the fascists stopped paying for my song because they thought it was gay".

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[–] MataVatnik@lemmy.world 15 points 3 weeks ago

I mean, Liberace sued for libel and won after a news outlet accused of him of being gay:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberace_v_Daily_Mirror

[–] BetaBlake@lemmy.world 47 points 3 weeks ago

Lol like Trump is actually going to pay you for using the song, it really is rubes all the way down

[–] Sludgehammer@lemmy.world 43 points 3 weeks ago

He says that, but he seems to really aggressively be sucking Trumps cock here.

[–] Gullible@sh.itjust.works 34 points 3 weeks ago (6 children)

While it’s definitely a fairly gay video, it’s actually less gay than I remembered it being. In any case, it’s too late. Boykissers have long since claimed the song.

[–] aramis87@fedia.io 43 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

The thing is, you're looking at it from 2024 eyes. 46 years ago, it was very definitely a gay video, especially when you throw in things that have been forgotten like the 1970's gay mustache. It wasn't really until Magnum PI that straight men reclaimed the mustache.

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[–] ninjabard@lemmy.world 33 points 3 weeks ago

Oh, honey. No.

[–] Davel23@fedia.io 31 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

He should have called the song "Y.M.C.A. (no homo)"

[–] MataVatnik@lemmy.world 22 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

🎶 IN THE NAVY 🎶 ^(no-homo)^

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[–] JadenSmith@sh.itjust.works 30 points 3 weeks ago

It's not a gay anthem, it's only coincidence that it's played in nearly every gay pub I have been to, on every gay radio station, every gay pride event (with performers), and when my first boyfriend sucked my dick. People just like picking straws, man.

[–] SplooshArmstrong@lemmynsfw.com 28 points 3 weeks ago

Idk seems kinda gay to me 🤷

[–] reddig33@lemmy.world 28 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I really thought all the Village People members were gay. Today I Learned:

“From 1978 until 1982, Willis was married to Phylicia Ayers-Allen (now Phylicia Rashad), whom he met during the run of The Wiz, and who later played Clair Huxtable on The Cosby Show”

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[–] uberdroog@lemmy.world 22 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

That tRump dance move is totally not gay either

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[–] inkrifle@lemmy.world 22 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Way to destroy your legacy!

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[–] HikingVet@lemmy.ca 21 points 3 weeks ago

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[–] Flax_vert@feddit.uk 19 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Young Men's Christian Association?

[–] Depress_Mode@lemmy.world 43 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (5 children)

Yes. If you weren't aware, the YMCA was a very common meeting/cruising place for gay men back in the day. The YMCA used to be known for providing cheap food and housing, so it attracted a lot of dudes to come stay there and some of them were gay. Gay bars weren't really a thing for the most part, so other places like the YMCA became the default. It's even more convenient if you already happen to live there.

As early as 1919, the YMCA was already a common cruising spot for both members of the US military and civilians. Some guy went up to FDR (Assistant Secretary of the Navy at the time) and was like "Want me to catch some of the gay dudes in the Navy?" When FDR approved, the Navy sent undercover twinks to the YMCA in Newport, Rhode Island to fuck a bunch dudes and report back like, "Yep, they were gay. I know because we fucked." Pretty shitty, since the result was a court-martial and some people ended up getting sent to naval prison or dishonorably discharged (a few were found not guilty). The investigators rarely expressed any objection to the sexual acts in their reports, either, so it's a little messed up that they'd get dudes in trouble for fucking by fucking them. I can still find an element of humor, though, in the fact that the US Navy was cool with sending specifically young, good-looking dudes to honeypot sailors into boning as a means of investigation all the way back in 1919. It was known as the Newport sex scandal if you want to read more.

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[–] Snowclone@lemmy.world 17 points 3 weeks ago

He's using every brain cell he has to not find out a gay anthem isn't a gay anthem because the entire writing staff is entirely gay and wrote the song for gay men explicitly, but because gay people use it as an anthem.

[–] Monstrosity@lemm.ee 16 points 3 weeks ago

This is sad. This makes me sad.

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