Village People Respond to Trump Posting Fake ‘Y.M.C.A.’ Video of Obama Being Arrested
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Donald Trump shared an AI-generated video of Barack Obama being arrested and thrown in jail to the tune of “Y.M.C.A.,” and the band behind the hit song is responding. The fake footage, reposted to the president’s Truth Social account, shows Trump smiling as Obama is taken into custody by FBI agents in the Oval Office. Village People tell PEOPLE in a statement that the group is hoping to “find the original person or entity who posted the offensive video” to have it taken down.
Now, the Village People — the group behind the hit 1978 song — tell PEOPLE they are hoping to have the original upload of the “offensive” video “taken down.” On Sunday, July 20, the 79-year-old president shared an AI video to his Truth Social platform that depicted Obama, 63, being taken into custody by FBI officials during a meeting with Trump in the Oval Office. The video was partly soundtracked by Village People’s “Y.M.C.A.” The clip, posted without a caption by the president on Sunday evening, begins with several Democrats — including Obama, former President Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi and Cory Booker — proclaiming that “no one is above the law.” That portion of the footage is soundtracked by the Curb Your Enthusiasm theme song, before an image of character Pepe the Frog, which over the years has been used as an alt-right symbol, appeared on screen. The footage then cuts to a doctored clip from Trump’s November 2016 visit to the White House with then-President Obama, which depicts FBI agents grabbing Obama out of a chair, placing handcuffs on him and removing him from the Oval Office while Trump smiles and “Y.M.C.A.” plays in the background. Finally, Obama is shown sitting in a jail cell, standing behind bars and wearing an orange jumpsuit in the AI footage.
“People reached out to Village People on Monday to ask about the viral video. “While we don’t want Y.M.C.A. to be used for political endorsements of any kind, President Trump merely sharing a video containing our song does not meet the standard for copyright infringement,” the group acknowledges in a statement. “However, we will attempt to find the original person or entity who posted the offensive video featuring President Barack Obama, and have such video taken down as not being endorsed by Village People, nor any of the owners of the copyright,” they add.
The doctored footage that Trump shared was originally posted by TikTok user “neo8171,” an account with less than 8,000 followers that has also been responsible for spreading misinformation about Kamala Harris’ identity and sharing an AI image of Biden shaking hands with the devil. A rep for Obama did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment. In addition to the Obama video, Trump also shared AI-generated images on July 20 of fake mugshots for Obama, Susan Rice, James Comey and others wearing prison attire alongside the words “The Shady Bunch.” The posts about Obama come shortly after Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democrat who now serves as the director of national intelligence under Trump, claimed she was “turning over” evidence of an “Obama Administration Conspiracy to Subvert Trump’s 2016 Victory and Presidency” to the Department of Justice. Trump’s latest posts also arrive amid growing calls for his administration to release more evidence related to late billionaire Jeffrey Epstein’s 2019 child sex-trafficking case.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel have backpedaled on unveiling Epstein-related files in recent weeks after a joint memo from the DOJ and FBI stated that an investigation into Epstein’s alleged crimes and death in prison was complete. The memo claimed that Epstein’s long-rumored “client list” did not exist. The president has since denounced any of his supporters who have fallen for what he’s now calling the “Epstein hoax” and also snapped at a reporter who asked him for more information on the report. The latest posts are not the first time Trump has reshared AI-generated images and videos to his social media platform. The White House’s social media channels, since Trump took office in January, have earned a reputation for posting AI photos — including one of Trump holding the lightsaber of a Sith Lord on Star Wars Day and Trump being depicted in papal attire days after Pope Francis’ death. In February, Trump himself also notably posted AI video of the Gaza Strip being transformed into a resort-like area, with a song describing a “Trump Gaza.”
As controversies surrounding the sharing of the fake video of Obama continue to unfold, it is essential for the public to remain vigilant and critically assess the information being circulated on social media platforms. The response from the Village People highlights the importance of safeguarding intellectual property rights and ensuring that creative works are not misused for political purposes. It will be interesting to see how this situation develops and whether there will be any further actions taken regarding the dissemination of such misleading content.