Fabrice "Fab" Morvan, one half of the former pop duo Milli Vanilli, said he will perform at a concert series tied to celebrations of the 250th anniversary of the United States in Washington despite a string of other artists pulling out.
“I am here to entertain and unite people, not divide them. Let’s celebrate life & music and take a trip down memory lane," Morvan said in a statement to media outlets including Rolling Stone.
Morvan is among several artists who have so far maintained their commitments to the "Great American State Fair" concert series on Washington National Mall, alongside rappers Vanilla Ice and Flo Rida.
The concerts are being organized by a self-described non-profit group dedicated to anniversary celebrations in the US capital, although the broader festivities stem from a call by President Donald Trump. The line-up for events scheduled between June 25 and July 10 was announced on Wednesday.
Shortly afterwards, several performers withdrew, including The Commodores, the former band of singer Lionel Richie, country singer Martina McBride and Poison frontman Bret Michaels.
The artists said the event, which organizers describe as non-partisan, had become too politically charged.
“Unfortunately, what was presented to us as a celebration of our country has evolved into something much more divisive than what I agreed to be a part of," Michaels wrote on Instagram
Milli Vanilli, the pop duo formed by German music producer Frank Farian, rose to infamy in the late 1980s. Their disco-pop hits "Girl You Know It's True" and "Blame It On The Rain" were international chart-toppers before the duo became embroiled in one of music's biggest scandals.
The Grammy Award won by Robert "Rob" Pilatus and Morvan in 1990 was later revoked after it emerged that the pair had not sung on their recordings but had lip-synced to the voices of other performers.
The singers whose voices were actually used on Milli Vanilli recordings — Jodie and Linda Rocco, Brad Howell, John Davis and Charles Shaw — also distanced themselves from the Washington performance in a post on X.
