Thursday, June 27, 2024 - A lawsuit has been filed against Disney alleging the company subjected the Village People to a hostile work environment and banned the iconic 70s group.
The wife of the Village People star, Victor Willis,
initiated the legal move that seeks $20 million in compensation for a litany of
claimed wrongs.
Karen Willis, the wife of lead singer and co-founder Victor
Willis, and the manager of the group's trademark for live performances filed a lawsuit
against Disney late last year on behalf of Victor and the group, according to
documents obtained by TMZ, and they are requesting more than $20 million
in damages.
Her husband Victor Willis is the sole original member of the
group who still performs under the Village People name, and he co-wrote and
sang lead on most of the group's classic albums and hit singles, including
Y.M.C.A., Macho Man, and In The Navy.
Karen says that the Village People were booked for a
performance at Walt Disney World in Florida in 2018, following about
a decade of annual performances at the theme park.
But she alleges that the performance during the two-day job
went poorly for the first time in years.
According to Karen Willis, she tried to enter the
front-of-house sound booth to make sure that the audio was as good as possible
during the Village People's show, but Disney employees allegedly blocked her
from entering and then ushered her away. It's unclear if she had previously
been allowed by Disney to assist the band in that capacity.
She claims that later during the band's time at Disney
World, she and Victor were attacked by a group of 'overzealous fans,' who she
claims were 'planted' at the park by a group of feuding ex-Village People
members.
In a complicated twist, Willis, who left the Village People
after the group's early success but returned to live performances in 2017, had
sued the group's record label and production company to reinstate himself and
give him the right to perform with a new group under the Village People name.
The group that had been performing as the Village People for
decades at that point, which included several dancing and singing members of
the Village People that were formed to back up Willis' lead vocals — then had
its rights to perform under the name revoked.
Karen Willis claims in her suit that the members who were
cast out of the Village People were feuding with her husband, and so they
planted the dangerous fans at Disney World who attacked her and Victor, though
it's unclear if she has any evidence of that alleged conspiracy.
She says the Village People's contract stipulates that they
be given extra security, but she accuses Disney of not providing that required
security when they were in the park.
But the biggest issue with the 2018 performance revolved
around the group's payment or lack thereof.
Although Disney sent out checks for the show, they were
allegedly made out to the wrong people or groups, so Victor and the Village
People couldn't get the money they were owed.
Karen alleges that when she and Victor alerted Disney to the
payment issue, they were brushed off. It's unclear if proper payments were ever
made, and if so how long it took before the proper checks were sent out.
Following the performance fiasco, the lawsuit accuses Disney
of not booking the Village People in the six years since the 2018 show, despite
having booked the group annually for years before that.
Karen Willis says in the Village People's suit that she
believes the House of Mouse is intentionally not booking the group, possibly as
retaliation for the response to the allegedly substandard performances
surrounding the 2018 show in Disney World.
In response, Disney filed a motion to have the case
dismissed, as it said it had a right not to rehire the Village People, though
it's unclear if it gave a reason why the invitations ceased after 2018.
However, Disney's motion was recently rejected, so the
Village People's lawsuit will be able to continue.
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