The singers of Milli Vanilli are the latest act to distance itself from Trump’s The Great American State Fair.
In a press release issued Thursday, the “original/real vocalists of Milli Vanilli” — Jodie Rocco, Linda Rocco, Brad Howell, John Davis, and Charles Shaw — confirmed they “will NOT be performing their hits live at The Great American State Fair.”
“Others using the name ‘Milli Vanilli’ that appear on the advertisement should be considered a tribute band with no association vocally or musically to our sound or songs,” the statement added.
In a separate email to The Associated Press, Jodie Rocco wrote that, “My sister and I were shocked to see our name, ‘Milli Vanilli’ as one of the performers,” and said that none of the group’s singers had been asked to come.
While original frontmen Rob Pilatus and Fab Morvan remain globally synonymous as the faces of the group, sisters Jodie and Linda, plus Howell, David, and Shaw, have actually fronted the touring act for years. They were among the original studio session vocalists on the group’s multi-platinum records. After the infamous lip-syncing scandal exposed Pilatus and Morvan as fraudulent visual stand-ins, the studio singers eventually stepped in to lead the live lineup, regularly hitting the road on nostalgia festival circuit tours like the “I Love the 90’s Tour.”
It’s possible that The Great American State Fair booked Morvan instead of Milli Vanilli and botched how it was presented. While Milli Vanilli’s name is featured in promotional materials, it’s Morvan’s image that appears alongside it. He also recently revealed his his hope to tour the US as a solo artist after finding success in Europe. Either way, the whole thing is very confusing.
Milli Vanilli marks the third act to publicly announce they won’t be performing at The Great American State Fair, following Morris Day + The Time and Young MC. In their respective statements, all three acts suggested they were caught off guard by news of their booking and unaware of its association with Donald Trump’s Freedom 250 celebrations. “The artists were never told about any political involvement with this event,” Young MC said in a statement.
Official Statement from The Real Milli Vanilli regarding @Freedom250 featured performances. pic.twitter.com/DCRcwgdk5t
— Milli Vanilli (@MilliVanilli) May 28, 2026
