Fabrice Morvan attends the "Milli Vanilli" premiere during the 2023 Tribeca Festival at Village East Cinema on June 10, 2023 in New York City. Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images for Tribeca Festival
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Milli Vanilli are among the artists to drop out of the Donald Trump-affiliated Great American State Fair shows slated for Washington, D.C., in honor of America’s 250th birthday. The “Girl You Know It’s True” act announced Thursday (May 28) that they won’t be performing in any capacity at the Freedom 250 concert.
The duo — which was slated to perform June 26, according to a release from Freedom 250 — claimed that any Milli Vanilli being used in advertisements should be considered to be a tribute band and they have no association with the event.
“The original/real vocalists of Milli Vanilli, Jodie Rocco, Linda Rocco, Brad Howell, John Davis, and Charles Shaw will NOT be performing their hits live at The Great American State Fair,” Milli Vanilli wrote. “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.”
Per Freedom 250’s announcement, Milli Vanilli was slated to hit the stage on June 26 alongside Vanilla Ice and Young MC. However, the “Bust a Move” rapper also announced that he’s dropping out of the festival. “I have informed my agents that I will not be performing,” Young MC said in a statement on social media.
The Time frontman Morris Day also distanced himself from the festival while announcing that he won’t be performing at the Great American State Fair.
Freedom 250 is a 16-day festival in D.C. running from June 25 through July 10 at the National Mall. Other performers on the bill include Flo Rida, Bret Michaels, The Commodores and Martina McBride.
Originally comprised of Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus, Milli Vanilli rose to prominence in the late 1980s.
Producer and Milli Vanilli founder Frank Farian recruited Brad Howell, John Davis, Charles Shaw, Jodie Rocco and Linda Rocco to provide vocals on Milli Vanilli tracks. “My sister and I were shocked to see our name, ‘Milli Vanilli,’ as one of the performers,” Jodie Rocco told The Associated Press. Pilatus died of an accidental drug and alcohol overdose in 1998.
Milli Vanilli is best known for Billboard Hot 100 top five hits like “Blame It on the Rain” (No. 1), “Girl I’m Gonna Miss You” (No. 1), “Baby Don’t Forget My Number” (No. 1), “Girl You Know It’s True” (No. 2) and “All or Nothing” (No. 4).
Find Milli Vanilli’s statement below.