Singer Victor Willis, who fronted the Village People until 1983, is demanding an apology from comedian Tracy Morgan after he joked about his love for gay people and used the “Y.M.C.A.” hit-maker as his punch line.
Morgan recently apologized for homophobic remarks he made during a stand-up show in Tennessee at the beginning of June, and in New York he opted to further make amends with a skit about how fond of gay people he is.
But Willis wasn’t laughing when he heard Morgan had alluded to him in his comedy.
Morgan joked, “My father was the lead singer of the Village People. I would sing ‘Y.M.C.A.’ the loudest. I was sitting right there when he wrote the song, my daddy.”
Tracy Morgan picked the wrong guy to include in the skit: Willis, the writer and singer of ‘Y.M.C.A.’ (the gay anthem), was the only straight member of the Village People.
According to Willis’ spokeswoman, “Tracy Morgan owes him an apology for implying he’s Morgan’s gay father. Victor is fond of Tracy Morgan as a comic, but he can’t seem to stop putting his foot in his mouth. Victor does not find what Morgan said in the context of what was obviously intended to be a gay-friendly joke to be funny at all, considering Victor’s not gay.”
