Jim Jefferies Hit With Cease And Desist By The Village People Over Y.M.C.A. Joke

The Village People are not a fan of Aussie comedian Jim Jefferies, it seems. Or at the very least, they’re not a fan of how he’s characterised one of their biggest songs, Y.M.C.A.

According to TMZ, Jefferies has been hit by a cease and desist order due to his description of the 1978 song in a recent podcast. Appearing on his At This Moment podcast, Jefferies

“Let's be honest, what is the Y.M.C.A. song about?” Jefferies asked, before co-host Amos Gill suggested, “Dude's getting fucked in a hostel?”

“It's about fucking in showers in a hostel, right?” Jefferies added. “When you're a young man who's been kicked out of your home, 'there's a place you can go, I said. Young man', when you're short on your dough’,” he continued, paraphrasing the song’s lyrics.

“And everyone, all these right-wing people are dancing around to basically a song about bumming in the shower.”

However, the Village People are none too pleased with Jefferies’ summation, with Karen Willis – the wife and manager of the Village People singer Victor Willis – sending the comedian a cease and desist for what is described as a “obscene, derogatory and false description” of the track.

Though the song has never explicitly been described as being about what Jefferies claimed, Gill also questioned the irony of US conservatives praising the song, especially given that President Donald Trump called the track the “gay national anthem” in 2012.

It’s likely worth noting that Trump has also been hit by a cease and desist from the Village People in recent years, though it didn’t stop the the band from performing at his inauguration just last month.

Victor Willis doesn’t agree with Gill’s claims about the song’s use by conservatives either, with Karen Willis claiming in her letter, “that is not the actual meaning of his lyrics, nor is there anywhere in the lyrics that would even remotely suggest such."

Jefferies has reportedly been given until February 17th to retract what has been called his “false and defamatory meaning” of the track or else he and Gill be served with a lawsuit.