Milli Vanilli's Fab Morvan says biggest 'misconception' was that they wanted to give Grammy back before it was revoked

Milli Vanilli was the first and the only act to have their Grammy revoked, but according to the surviving member of the controversial German R&B group, they wanted to give it back in the first place.

More than 30 years after their scandal rocked the music industry, Milli Vanilli is finally seeing a bit of redemption thanks to a documentary and inclusion of their music in Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.

Fab Morvan, one half of the disgraced group, opened up to Interview about this newest, unexpected chapter in his life, which includes renewed interest in Milli Vanilli's music, style, and story. One of the things he wanted to set straight was the whole Grammy situation.

On Feb. 21, 1990, Milli Vanilli won Best New Artist at the 32nd annual award ceremony, beating out acts Neneh Cherry, Soul II Soul, the Indigo Girls, and Tone Loc. Once it was revealed that Morvan and his partner Rob Pilatus were lip-synching on their records and in their live shows, the Grammy was rescinded by the Recording Academy.

Morvan claims that at a 1990 press conference, he and Pilatus wanted to give back their trophy, but the press got ahead of them.

"We did it to say, 'We know we were wrong, and we came here to let you know, Hey, we want to give this Grammy back.' That’s what we wanted, because we didn’t think we deserved it, and it didn’t feel like it belonged in our house," Morvan says.

"But when we informed them that we were going to give it back, the Los Angeles Times told NARAS [the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences] and then they jumped the gun," he continues. "This is one of the most important misconceptions for me. We actually wanted to give it back, but the press made it seem that the Grammy federation forcibly reclaimed it from us."

Morvan and Pilatus tried, unsuccessfully, to redeem themselves in the public eye, with Pilatus dying of an accidental drug overdose in 1998 at age 32, just as the duo were preparing to go on tour to promote a new album that was subsequently shelved.

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Morvan continued on his own, struggling to shake the stigma of Milli Vanilli, while the Svengali behind the project, Frank Farian, emerged practically unscathed. Farian died in January of this year at age 82.

However, thanks to Monsters, which also shed a revisionist light on the Menendez brothers' crimes, and the acclaimed 2023 doc, Milli Vanilli, Morvan is enjoying renewed time in the spotlight, including a fashion collaboration celebrating the iconic style of the defunct duo.

"Now I feel like I’ve got a chance to go into a new and exciting story," he tells Interview. "A new chapter, and people are slowly starting to read it. I’ve been working on that chapter for a long time."