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.
0 Comments