Milli Vanilli's Fabrice Morvan Opens Up About Lip-Syncing Scandal: 'My Story Has Never Been Told' (Exclusive)

"We went from being these loved characters to being laughed at and ridiculed," Morvan tells PEOPLE in this week's issue

Milli Vanilli’s rise and fall was swift.

The R&B duo, fronted by Fabrice Morvan and Rob Pilatus, shot up the charts in the late ‘80s with hits like “Girl You Know It’s True” and “Blame It on the Rain.”

But then it was revealed the two stars were not the vocalists on any of Milli Vanilli’s songs. The Recording Academy revoked their best new artist Grammy Award — the only instance in the organization’s history — and the pair were effectively canceled.

More than three decades later, Morvan, 57, is sharing the truth about the lip-syncing scandal in Paramount+’s documentary Milli Vanilli, released Tuesday. “People always thought they knew the story,” Morvan tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue, “but my story has never been told.”

The film features interviews with Morvan as well as several music industry figures, both involved with and adjacent to the machine behind Milli Vanilli. Director Luke Korem was inspired to make the documentary after learning there were cracks in the version of the story he previously knew.

“I watched a YouTube video of Fabrice telling his story at The Moth in New York City, and at the end he sang,” says Korem. “He had this beautiful voice, and I thought, ‘Wait a minute. I thought the story was that these two guys were talentless frauds. I didn’t know he could sing.’”

Raised in Paris by a construction worker father and pharmaceutical lab assistant mother, Morvan moved at 18 to Munich, Germany, where he met Pilatus, a fellow dancer who shared his dream of performing. In 1987 label executive Frank Farian, who’d helmed the group Boney M. and produced for Meat Loaf, offered them a record deal. “We were like, ‘Man, that guy is powerful,” recalls Morvan.

Enticed by the gold record plaques in Farian’s studio, they signed the deal without reading it, and Milli Vanilli was born. Shortly after, Morvan says they realized Farian had no plans for them to sing. Already under contract, they agreed to lip sync to songs recorded by American vocalists Charles Shaw, John Davis and Brad Howell—who were kept separate from Morvan and Pilatus.

Related: John Davis, Real Voice Behind Milli Vanilli, Dead of COVID at 66: 'He Gave So Much to the World'

“Every time we came to the studio we tried to look for people. There was nobody there,” says Morvan. “They made sure that we never came in contact.”

The secret was overwhelming for the rising stars, who feared they’d be exposed because their accents didn’t match the real singers’ voices. “It was always just like this weight,” adds Morvan. “That was nerve-wracking.”

Still, Milli Vanilli soared to stardom, earning three No. 1 hits on their 1989 debut album, along with their Grammy win the next year. They performed at the awards show, which generally forbids lip syncing. In the new film, Farian’s then-assistant ingrid Segeith claims Milli Vanilli’s manager Sandy Gallin (who died in 2017) paid the Recording Academy to bypass the rules.

“I was kept out of the loop during that,” says Morvan of any alleged deals behind their Grammy performance, which he only learned about through Korem’s documentary.

Morvan and Pilatus wanted to sing on their second album, but Farian apparently refused, prompting the duo to threaten to expose the secret themselves. Farian (who did not participate in the documentary and has not commented on Morvan’s claims) beat them to the punch, revealing the ruse in November 1990. “I knew it would change everything,” says Morvan.

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Fans quickly turned on them, with many destroying their albums. “We went from being these loved characters to being laughed at and ridiculed,” Morvan recalls. “We were the butt of all the jokes and easy targets.” They also faced racism. “It was ugly,” he adds. “Rob took it really personally.”

They attempted to revive their career as a singing duo, but audiences weren’t interested — and Pilatus turned to drugs and alcohol. “He’d gone way too deep with addiction to get out of the hole,” says Morvan. In 1998, Pilatus died of a suspected overdose. “When Rob died, I was like, ‘Wow, no one will ever know what it was like.’”

Today, Morvan lives in Amsterdam with his partner Tessa van der Steen and their four children: Sacha, 10, Solange, 7, and twins Paris and Vince, 2. Fatherhood has brought light into his life. “It healed me, because suddenly they became the focal point,” he says.

He remains committed to music — writing, singing and playing instruments himself this time around. “I said to myself, ‘Hey, let’s go for it. You’ve got nothing to lose,’” he says. “I saw the light at the end of the tunnel.”

The performer has also found peace with Milli Vanilli’s complicated legacy: “Without this music and this journey, I wouldn’t be who I am today.”

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