Seventies disco band Village People has asked Donald Trump to stop using impersonators while playing their music without consent.
The wife of one of the band members on Monday sent a cease-and-desist letter to the former president, according to reports.
Mr Trump has been using the band’s songs such as “YMCA” and “Macho Man” at his events and rallies for years now.
The former president was sent the cease-and-desist letter over a video of him and a Village People lookalike group of musicians dancing to “Macho Man” at his Mar-a-Lago estate.
After the video was widely shared on social media, fans of the band started accusing them of endorsing Mr Trump, which prompted them to request he stop hiring impersonators to perform their songs at Mar-A-Lago or any events and rallies.
The cease-and-desist letter to Mr Trump stated that the band “tolerated” his use of their music in the past and threatened that they will file a lawsuit against the former president if he doesn’t stop using the band’s images and music.
The letter from Karen Willis who is the manager of the band, and is also the wife of the lead singer Victor Willis, was sent to Mr Trump’s attorney Joe Tacopina on Monday.
She noted the Mar-a-Lago performance was “unauthorised” and in the wake of the video, “many fans, and the general public as well, mistakenly believe” that the actual Village People delivered the performance.
However, the former president’s attorney Joe Tacopina was quoted saying by TMZ that “I will only deal with the attorney of the Village People if they have one, not the wife of one of the members”.
He went further to add that “they [the members of the band] should be thankful that Trump allowed them to get their name back in the press. I haven’t heard their name in decades. Glad to hear they are still around”.
