Disney Sued by Village People, Iconic 'Y.M.C.A.' Band Wants $20 Million

Disney is facing a new lawsuit from an unexpected adversary: Village People, the iconic novelty disco song best known for the song “Y.M.C.A.”

The Walt Disney Company has been served legal action by Karen Willis, the manager of the Village People trademark for live performances and spouse of Victor Willis, the lead singer and sole original founding member of the group (per TMZ).

According to the lawsuit, Village People have performed at the Walt Disney World Resort on an annual basis for about the last decade but have now been essentially blackballed by the Mouse and subjected to “hostile” treatment.

An image of the Village People, a musical group, dressed in themed costumes against a red background. Text at the top reads "VILLAGE PEOPLE" in white and "Macho Man" in black cursive. The group members are in costumes including a cowboy, construction worker, and Native American headdress. — Credit: Village People

The complaint says (in part) that Disney discriminated against Village People by “outright refusing to seriously consider the group” for performances at Disney World and that “This unfair business practice by Disney denied Village People an opportunity to fairly compete for a slot to perform at Disney.”

Additionally, in 2018, Karen Willis says, Village People was booked for a performance at Disney World, and she was blocked by Disney Cast Members from entering a sound booth to monitor performance levels; to be fair, it is unclear whether she had previously been granted access to the space or whether that was part of her normal operating duties.

Willis also says that she and Victor Willis were accosted “by a group of ‘overzealous fans'” who she claims were “planted” by former members of the group to harass them.

That’s where the lawsuit gets into some tricky territory. While Victor Willis is a founding member of Village People, he left the band in the early 1980s and only recently returned to front the band. He has since sued the band’s record label and production company to get the rights to perform with an entirely new lineup under the Village People name.

Karen Willis now claims that the aforementioned “fans” were being used by vengeful former band members to harass her and her husband; Disney is involved in this aspect of the suit because she claims the company did not provide adequate security despite his performance contract requiring it.

A picturesque view of a fairy tale Cinderella Castle with spires, under a clear blue sky with the sun setting behind, casting a warm glow over the scene at Walt Disney World Resort. — Credit: Disney

Finally, Karen Willis says that Village People was given the runaround when it came to being paid for its performances, with checks being made to the wrong individuals/names and thus being unable to be negotiated. She says she was given the proverbial “cold shoulder” by Disney and, since then, has been essentially blacklisted from Magic Kingdom.

She may have a case, per Billboard. San Diego County Superior Judge Katherine Bacal has ruled that Village People could move forward with the case, opening up Disney to potential violations of state laws and fraud by barring the group from performances.

Gina Carano as Cara Dune in The Mandalorian — Credit: Lucasfilm

Disney is claiming (much as it does in the much more high-profile Gina Carano case) that it has “right of association” to not hire groups or individuals as it pleases, which may or may not cause it to run afoul of anti-discrimination laws.

Karen Willis and Village People are asking for $20 million in damages.

Do you think Disney will win this disco-related case?