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The Village People have ordered Donald Trump to stop playing their music at his rallies after he blared out ‘Y.M.C.A.’ and ‘Macho Man’ at a series of recent events.
In a statement posted to Facebook, band leader Victor Willis said he was forced to act after Trump seemingly threatened to shoot Black Lives Matter protestors in Minneapolis.
“If Trump orders the U.S. military to fire on his own citizens (on U.S. soil), Americans will rise up in such numbers outside of the White House that he might be forced out of office prior to the election. Don’t do it Mr. President!” Willis wrote on his Facebook account.
“And I ask that you no longer use any of my music at your rallies especially ‘Y.M.C.A.’ and ‘Macho Man.’ Sorry, but I can no longer look the other way.”
Both songs have been a frequent feature of Trump’s public appearances for several years, and were most recently played when he attended the SpaceX rocket launch alongside VP Mike Pence.
Willis had previously said he had no problem with Trump using the songs because it was “not being used for a specific endorsement” which is “perfect[ly] legal.”
But he seemingly changed his stance after Trump’s controversial tweet last week, which was flagged by Twitter for violating the site’s rules against glorifying violence.
“These thugs are dishonouring the memory of George Floyd, and I won’t let that happen,” Trump tweeted.
“Just spoke to [Minnesota] Governor Tim Waltz and told him that the Military is with him all the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts. Thank you!”
Twitter then added a warning label to Trump’s tweet, which prevented users from viewing it without reading a brief content warning. Twitter also blocked users from liking or replying to the tweet.
Floyd, who was African American, was killed in Minneapolis last month when a white police officer appeared to kneel on his neck as he lay on the ground during an arrest.
Officer Derek Chauvin has since been sacked and charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter. Three of his colleagues, Thomas Lane, Tou Thao and J Alexander Keung, are now all facing charges of aiding and abetting second-degree murder, and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter.
The Minneapolis police department has since vowed to disband in the wake of Floyd’s death.
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