A 22-year-old Missouri man, who was crowned homecoming queen in October 2021, is looking back at the viral moment four years later.
Zachary Willmore, who attended Rock Bridge High School in Columbia, made history as the first man to take home the honor in the state — however, after his monumental win made headlines, not everyone was as thrilled as he was.
“I am definitely so much tougher of a person because of that experience, because I did get death threats [sent] to my house,” Willmore told People in an interview published, Tuesday, October 28, adding that his TikTok account was banned shortly after the clip caught fire.
Though footage of his crowning quickly accumulated around 5 million views, “I think a lot of people were coming to report it just because they were really upset,” he explained.
At the time of his crowning, Willmore could be seen standing on the high school’s football field in a sparkling gold gown and white sash. When his name was announced as homecoming queen, he joyously jumped up and down before being crowned.
TikTok/zachwillmore
Willmore believes that people were up in arms following his win because they thought he was taking the crown away from a female classmate. However, he told People that Rock Bridge High only planned to crown one winner, regardless of gender, and that he could’ve opted for the title of “homecoming king.”
He explained, “It was based off of popularity at the time and how many votes one specific person could garner regardless of the title.”
In fact, Willmore didn’t think he would win. “I definitely thought that it was going to be one of the other guys at my school because he was just so popular,” he admitted.
Though Willmore is now a senior at San Diego State University, the viral moment has made its way back into the cultural zeitgeist four years later — but he doesn’t let the negative headlines get him down.
“I feel like some of these articles that have come out recently are meant to enrage people,” he said. “I see the highlighted words. It’s like, ‘Homecoming queen in the state of Missouri — who is a man.’ I’m like, ‘Oh my God, this is so obviously trying to rage-bait people.’”
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