Stephen Colbert Jokes Waiting for Trump’s Inauguration is Like Being ‘James Bond Strapped to the Table’ | Video
Stephen Colbert channeled what a lot of his viewers are surely thinking on Tuesday’s “The Late Show,” when he brought up the fact that Donald Trump’s second inauguration is just a week away. “I know, I know, I know, I know, as much as I’m not looking forward to it, waiting for it is just so tense.”
“It feels like we’re all James Bond strapped to the table, and the laser is slowly inching toward our crotch, and it’s like, ‘enough about your evil plot to conquer Greenland. Just zap America’s junk off already,'” he added.
Colbert then brought up how the Village People will be performing at Trump’s inauguration, “leading many to ask why,” Colbert joked, pronouncing “why” like the syllable “Y” in the chorus of the Village People song “YMCA.”
“This is a big change of heart for the for the village people, given that in 2020 they demanded Trump stop using their music,” Colbert explained. “Evidently, the band is trying to go in a new direction, and that direction is toward money. Because a few weeks ago, this was a few weeks ago, lead singer Victor Willis posted that he will sue every news organization that falsely refers to YMCA as a gay anthem.”
Quoting Willis directly, Colbert said, “This must stop, because it is damaging to the song. Yes, for once and for all, ladies and gentlemen, YMCA is not gay. Where did that even come from? It’s off the famously straight, actual Village People album ‘Cruisin'”, packed with hetero hits like “Hot Cop,” “My Roommate” and simply, “I’m a Cruiser.”
Colbert didn’t get into it, but a few additional things to note about this. First, Willis is indeed a founding member of the Village People, but he didn’t create the band. That was the work of French music producer Jacques Morali, a gay man who was specifically inspired to assemble what would become the Village People by the costume balls thrown in the gay disco scene of New York City. He also wrote or co-wrote most of the band’s iconic hits, including “Go West,” “In the Navy,” “Macho Man” and, yes, “YMCA,” among many others.
These songs weren’t intended to be expressly political, but they were written to appeal to both heterosexual and queer listeners, and they’re filled with deliberate innuendo. They also inspired generations of queer artists who would later help break numerous barriers, including Pet Shop Boys, who had a major hit with a cover of “Go West” in 1994.
Sadly, Morali, died from complications of AIDS in 1991 when he was only 44 years old. Willis, who co-wrote Village People hits with Morali including “YMCA,” is now the sole original member left. It’s not clear why he’s denying the context of the songs he performs or the life and reality of the man who made him a star.
Anyway, later in the monologue, Colbert also discussed the release of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s report on Donald Trump’s attempts to overthrow the government in 2021 and reverse the outcome of the 2020 election. His assessment was suitably bleak.
“When people find out what Trump did, his chances of being re elected two months ago are going to be pretty slim,” Colbert joked. “Okay, the report has a bold claim in it. Smith says if Donald Trump hadn’t won the presidential election in November, the Justice Department would have had ample evidence to convict him at trial. It’s all true, and you can see it dramatized in the new Marvel series. ‘What if anything mattered anymore?'”
Watch the full monologue below:
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