The singers of Milli Vanilli are the latest act to distance themselves 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, Howell, David, and Shaw were the real voices behind the group’s multi-platinum records. This reality was hidden from the world until a massive lip-syncing scandal unmasked Pilatus and Morvan as fraudulent visual stand-ins. Pilatus later died of an overdose in 1998.
It’s possible The Great American State Fair booked Morvan as a solo artist and botched the marketing. While Milli Vanilli’s name is featured in promotional materials, it’s Morvan’s image that appears alongside it. Morvan recently revealed his his hope to tour the US after rehabilitating his image in Europe in recent years, and played an “I Love the 90’s” concert alongside Vanilla Ice, Young MC, and others earlier in Irvine, CA, earlier this year. Either way, the whole thing is very confusing.
Update: The mystery has been solved. Morvan has confirmed he will in fact be performing at the event.
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
