Village People the disco band whose members were deliberately stylized as macho gay characters will play events celebrating the inauguration of soon-to-be President Donald Trump, arguably the most anti-LGBTQ+ president of all time.We know this wont make some of you happy to hear, wrote the bands lead singer Victor Willis (who dresses as the bands policeman character) in a recent Facebook post, however we believe that music is to be performed without regard to politics. Our song Y.M.C.A. is a global anthem that hopefully helps bring the country together after a tumultuous and divided campaign where our preferred candidate lost. Related Is it actually gay? Heres the true meaning of the song YMCA The bands frontman claimed the hit dance song isnt gay, but his gay bandmates remember things differently. Willis wrote that the band will perform at various events during Trumps second inauguration, including at least one event with Trump in attendance. The band is scheduled to perform at an inaugural eve ball hosted by the anti-LGBTQ+ conservative group Turning Point USA, according to the events website. The events high-profile attendees will include anti-LGBTQ+ figures like Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, Donald Trump Jr. and transphobic Trump administration nominee Tulsi Gabbard. Insights for the LGBTQ+ community Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more. Subscribe to our Newsletter today Turning Point USAs founder Charlie Kirk has promoted Christian nationalism, Trumps baseless conspiracy theories about fraud in the 2020 elections, and demonized transgender people, according to the Anti-Defamation League. The organization has a professor watchlist of educators who allegedly push dangerous anti-American immoral, and radical sexual/gender ideology onto students. Kirk himself has advocated the legal persecution ofthe alphabet mafia, groomers, [and] chemical castration of children, now all dog-whistles for LGBTQ+ community members and their allies.Trump repeatedly played Y.M.C.A. during his re-election campaign events and would occasionally pump his fists in the air to its beat. Willis has argued that the song itself isnt gay and is merely dedicated to his youth at the eponymous fitness community centers. However, David Hodo, who performed as the bands construction worker, said the song was absolutely written to celebrate gay men at the YMCA, adding and gay people love it.Willis raised eyebrows last December when he announced that, starting in January, he will sue each and every news organization that falsely refers to Y.M.C.A., either in their headlines or alluded to in the base of the story, that Y.M.C.A. is somehow a gay anthem. In his announcement, Willis basically said that the songs renewed popularity is making Willis a lot of money. His position appeared to contradicthis 2020 requestthat Trump no longer use any Village People music.Willis, who is heterosexual, said he originally asked Trump to stop using the song because the number of people complaining to him about it had become a nuisance, though his original request suggested discontent with Trumps threats on the American people.However, Willis said he changed his mind because Trump was having a lot of fun with the song and he didnt have the heart to stop him from using it.Gay cultural critic Michael Musto believes that the song has been straight-washed.All these years later, the gay subtext is gone, and its a rah-rah crowd-pleaser for the baseball stadium crowd, Musto said, noting the songs popularity at sporting events. It happens. A rallying song for the oppressed turns into a middle-of-the-road spirit-lifter, mainly because the straights like to steal things from the gays, take away all the scary edge, and make it their own.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.