Meet the Village People’s Victor Willis, who’s playing Trump’s inauguration: the president-elect is his biggest fan and he was married to Phylicia Rashad, aka Clair Huxtable from The Cosby Show
Disco group the Village People returned to the top of the music charts on the heels of Trump’s political comeback; now the group is playing the US’s biggest stage on January 20, to the dismay of many
Although the Village People’s hit songs “YMCA” and “Macho Man” have become synonymous with the Trump campaign, the inclusion of the group has surprised many, given they previously condemned Trump’s political stances, per ABC.
Willis has had a rocky history with the Village People, leaving the group several times and becoming embroiled in lawsuits over copyright infringement.
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But in December 2024, Willis changed his tune (pun intended), telling Fox News, “I decided to allow the president-elect’s continued use of ‘YMCA’ because he seems to genuinely, genuinely like the song and so many other artists were stopping him from using their music.”
The group confirmed on January 14 it would perform at Trump’s inaugural events. “Our song ‘YMCA’ is a global anthem that hopefully helps bring the country together after a tumultuous and divided campaign where our preferred candidate lost,” read a statement posted to their Facebook page.