EXCLUSIVE: Donald Trump's MAGA Faithful Trash Late Village People Star Victor Willis For His Massive U-Turn On Supporting 'YMCA'-Mad President
MAGA supporters blasted Victor Willis over his Trump reversal.
July 2 2026, Published 11:26 a.m. ET
Victor Willis spent years publicly objecting to Donald Trump's use of YMCA at campaign rallies before surprising fans by agreeing to take part in events surrounding the president's second inauguration last year – sparking a wave of cruel trolling over his death from the president's diehard MAGA base.
Breaking Celebrity News can reveal Trump's most loyal supporters are now cruelly attacking Willis and his family online due to his change of heart over supporting the Republican president.
MAGA Backlash Erupts
Victor Willis objected to the political use of his music for years.
One MAGA supporter told us: "People appreciated Victor finally said he recognized what YMCA had become for President Trump, but a lot of us never forgot the years he spent criticizing him. His turnaround came too late for many supporters, and his family deserves all the hatred they are getting as Trump has put a lot of royalty money in their pockets with his love of YMCA."
Another supporter added: "You can't spend years saying you don't support President Trump and then expect everyone to forget because you appear at an inauguration. Some people accepted it, others never did."
Willis had repeatedly distanced himself from Trump during the president's first term. In 2020, he told the BBC: "I don't endorse Trump, I've never endorsed Trump, nor have the Village People."
However, he stunned both critics and supporters when he later agreed to participate in celebrations surrounding Trump's second inauguration, explaining that he believed the band's biggest hit had grown beyond politics.
At the time, Willis said: "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."
The decision divided opinion among both music fans and political supporters.
While many Trump backers celebrated Willis' appearance as an endorsement of the president's broad appeal, others questioned why the singer had spent years objecting to the song's association with Trump before embracing it.
From Critic to Supporter
French producer Jacques Morali recruited Willis to front the Village People.
Willis rose to international fame as the original lead singer of Village People, co-writing enduring disco hits including YMCA, Go West and In The Navy.
Raised in San Francisco, he began singing gospel music in his father's Baptist church before performing with his high school band, working with jazz legend Dizzy Gillespie and building a stage career through productions of Hair, Two Gentlemen Of Verona and The Wiz.
French producer Jacques Morali later recruited Willis to front Village People, where his police officer character became one of the group's defining images. The band's success made YMCA one of the biggest-selling songs of the disco era, eventually becoming a fixture at weddings, sporting events and political rallies around the world.
Willis left the group in 1979 before battling depression, substance abuse and legal troubles.
In 2015, he said: "I got very depressed over the years. I got kind of drugged out, because I was disappointed with the way things were and got frustrated, and gave up for a bit."
After overcoming addiction, Willis successfully fought to reclaim a share of the copyrights to Village People's biggest hits before returning to the group in 2017.
His wife, Karen Huff-Willis, announced Willis had died on June 30, 2026, aged 74, following a short but aggressive illness.
Donald Trump developed a highly viral signature dance routine.
Trump's YMCA Tradition
Donald Trump consistently played the energetic track to close rallies.
She said in a Facebook post: "It is with profound sadness that I must announce the death of my husband. Victor passed away on Tuesday, June 30, 2026, as a result of a short but aggressive illness."
Trump has spent years as a vocal supporter and avid user of the Village People's 1978 hit song YMCA which serves as the official closing anthem for his political rallies and Mar-a-Lago events.
Despite the song's historical roots as a camp, LGBTQ+ disco anthem, Trump has praised it as an "uplifting" crowd-pleaser that "gets people moving".
Trump began consistently playing the song to close out his rallies. His team often uses the energetic track to transition into the spectacle portion of his events.
Over successive campaigns, Trump developed a signature dance to the song, which involves pumping his fists back and forth. The "Trump dance" also went highly viral on social media.
In May 2024, Trump publicly joked First Lady Melania Trump "hates when I dance to what's sometimes referred to as 'the gay national anthem.'"
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Tribute After His Death
Trump published a formal tribute on Truth Social honoring Willis.
Willis eventually embraced Trump's usage, noting the president "genuinely liked" the song and that the political exposure had immense financial benefits – including pushing YMCA to number one on a Billboard chart for the first time in over 45 years.
The relationship culminated in a new lineup of the Village People performing YMCA live on stage alongside Trump during his pre-inauguration festivities.
Following the passing of Willis, Trump issued a formal tribute on Truth Social. He described him as a "great and happy guy" who loved the fact YMCA became a "monster hit" again because of the rallies.
Trump noted: "We will think of Victor every time YMCA is played... all throughout this July Fourth Birthday week."
