The first man ever to win the title of homecoming queen in the state of Missouri has spoken out about some of the criticism he faced.
Four years ago, in October 2021, Zachary Willmore made national headlines when he was crowned homecoming queen at Rock Bridge High School. Footage from the event shows Zachary standing on his school’s football field, wearing a glittering gold gown as he accepts the crown and sash.
Speaking to KOMU 8 News at the time, he said: “It was literally like a dream. It was just really special to me.”
Naturally, Zachary’s historic win — the first male homecoming queen in his school’s history — sparked controversy online.
But Zachary didn’t shy away from the attention. He had already begun building a TikTok presence centered around his confidence and self‑expression, and his following grew rapidly. Today, he has more than 2.3 million followers.
Now 22, he continues to create content that reflects his interests and values, ranging from get‑ready‑with‑me videos to more serious discussions about homophobia, hate crimes, and politics. Even after four years, his homecoming queen win still attracts attention. With renewed interest in the story, Zachary told PEOPLE he believes some of the coverage is intentionally provocative.
“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.’”
Reflecting on the backlash, Zachary said many critics claimed he had taken the title “from a girl.” But he explained to PEOPLE that this wasn’t true — the school only ever planned to crown one winner, regardless of gender. It wasn’t a homecoming king plus Zachary. He simply had the choice between “homecoming king” and “homecoming queen.” He chose the latter.
“It was based off of popularity at the time and how many votes one specific person could garner regardless of the title,” the San Diego State University senior said.
“At this point, I think that some people intentionally misunderstand.”
One of his TikToks showing the crowning was even removed after being mass‑reported.
“I think a lot of people were coming to report it just because they were really upset,” Zachary said. “I am definitely so much tougher of a person because of that experience, because I did get death threats sent to my house.”
Despite everything, Zachary remains proud of his achievement as Missouri’s first male homecoming queen.
“I definitely thought that it was going to be one of the other guys at my school because he was just so popular,” he told PEOPLE. “It was really nice. I was excited about it.”
