SkipperLove said:

People can be soo harsh when you don't live up to their standards. Remember when that picture of P without his makeup on was circulated around 2011. He was what? 52 years old, maybe looked 45 at most. People on that ONTD site were harsh as hell, telling him to get his mascara and foundation back on. Dude, he was 52. Remember people speculating on this site whether his afro was a wig. Without his perfect appearance maybe to him, he would have just seemed like a short, middle-aged man with gray hair and crows feet trying to sing songs about sex and passion. I sometimes wonder if Prince had been able to accomplish another album (of his own liking) that sold as well as Purple Rain whether he could have felt more comfortable with resting and being in his natural state around fans.

THIS. Even if Prince didn't want to maintain that image anymore, some of his fans wouldn't have let him be the normal guy and they would've trashed him.