http://www.laweekly.com/m...ce-8316265

I just read this interview. It both deeply moved me and frustrated me at the same time. Okay, now, I can only imagine the complexity of their feelings or Prince's feelings for them for that matter.

I don't have the guts to talk to any of these people. I live in Indianapolis, I could have seen them at the Vogue theater (which is literally down the road from where i work). I could have waited outside to get an autograph. I didn't have the heart to do it. But indirectly, if they are reading, I want to thank Lisa for calling Prince a friend and acknowledging that Prince didn't have to form the Revolution. I want to thank her for acknowledging that PRince as an older statesman would have been a good thing. I want to thank Wendy for sympathizing with Prince being under pressure.

I wanna challenge Lisa in some respects...however. I am not so sure Prince is and was as canonized as she seems to think. I read older articles on Prince every once in a while. Last night I saw a picture of prince talking to Denzel Washington at a Laker game, the comments from 2008 were all homophobic, ageist, has-been statements about Prince...nothing bad stated about Denzel at all.

Also pertaining to Lisa's statements about Prince, I get the need to humanize Prince, to say that he could be charming, funny but also an asshole, but are any of his associates willing to acknowledge publically in front of the world, their asshole moments, their less than stellar humanity. Most people don't have the courage to do that; why should they expect Prince to do publically himself. I think calling him out publically (as much as they could without getting Cease and desist letters) might have been their attempt while he was alive to get him to open up about his vulnerability or to reconnect with those who loved him, but was it successful? Perhaps, Prince needed more people riding his ass to his face rather than in print. Its like the difference between pushing a closeted homosexual to come out of the closet for their own sake and outing them publically without their consent. I am just saying that the more his former associates discussed him in books about the period, the less he probably trusted them on a personal level (I am guessing) . The more they gushed about the 80's, the more he had to prove he was still relevant (thus the more likely he was not going to want to look back). Its funny that they don't say much about his Piano and Microphone tours' nostalgic and back-ward looking tone. These challenges are not really criticisms of Lisa's sincerity or love for Prince (I do think its an extremely loving piece). But can you get people to open up all the time, by pushing them into a corner in the public eye. The result can be a fight or flight reaction. This is why I respected so much what MOrris Hayes supposedly did years ago when he risked his career and said to Prince directly "hey', i have heard drug rumors and you seem stressed, are you okay". Prince immediately took a week long break and Hayes remained employed. Only recently did Hayes reveal that that conversation took place. Ultimately, it was Prince's issues that killed him and no one else's fault but bringing up his faults in the public arena wouldn't have really helped fix that. Private conversations with real and honest communication (with people he knew wouldn't say anything publically) is what the dude needed. (maybe he made that impossible..I don't know.) Prince's need for privacy (alone) isn't what killed him in my opinion. PRince's trust issues (along with high expectations and his need for privacy) are what killed him. The public didn't need to know he had a drug problem. His friends/associates needed to know. The public/fans can not help you in your time of need. Your friends and associates do that (and if you can't trust them, who can you trust?) But her argument might be that the public shaming/exposure isn't the end of the world if it saves your life...(and that argument I do agree with.) sadly his death has removed what privacy he did have.

[Edited 6/19/17 12:13pm]

[Edited 6/19/17 12:17pm]

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[Edited 6/19/17 13:05pm]

[Edited 6/19/17 13:54pm]

Well this really isn't about the Revolution band.
But an individual right?

U should have went 2 the show

U should have went 2 the show

U need 2 go 2 the show

purplerabbithole said:

http://www.laweekly.com/m...ce-8316265

I just read this interview. It both deeply moved me and frustrated me at the same time. Okay, now, I can only imagine the complexity of their feelings or Prince's feelings for them for that matter.

Kim Berry said he had his asshole moments on the Mike Dean podcast. She also said he knew it as well. I still do not understand why people think if the entire free world knew about joint pain or drugs it would have one bit of difference.

• Outing Prince (so to speak) publically wouldn't have necessarily helped Prince check himself (especially if it is not accompanied with people he trusts doing it privately. ) Private help(and honest associates) was much more important. Public scorn alone would have just forced someone like him into more denial and isolation.

• As for his asshole moments, I guess everyone is capable of these moments. I guess I should be annoyed with Kim as well for not statng that she (herself) has had those moments. Prince was a powerful man (for his talent, his drive, his status, his charisma, his work effort) but he was also a weak man in many ways. I guess his sins, his ugly side did have a bigger impact on those around him. So, I will just assume that people like Kim and LIsa have had their asshole moments as well. They just don't matter as much because they had less of an impact on those around them. That being said, Prince's non-asshole moments also had a bigger impact on those around him than Lisa or Kim's ever did. Balanced, empathetic accounts of Prince is probably the most we will ever get. (Maybe he was a bigger asshole than many folks but he was also a bigger hero than many folks as well)

• That being said, I would still have more respect for these folks who write memoirs about their lives in which Prince played a part if they were completely upfront about themselves. It is not entirely fair to scrutunize the shit out of someone else if you don't throw a bit of that at yourself.

• As for exposing Prince's full drug addiction now that he is gone-- I am actually for an honest depiction because speculation and conspiracy theories are much much worse for his legacy now. They should tell the whole truth since so many confusing tidbits have already trickled out.

laurarichardson said:

purplerabbithole said:

http://www.laweekly.com/m...ce-8316265

I just read this interview. It both deeply moved me and frustrated me at the same time. Okay, now, I can only imagine the complexity of their feelings or Prince's feelings for them for that matter.

Kim Berry said he had his asshole moments on the Mike Dean podcast. She also said he knew it as well. I still do not understand why people think if the entire free world knew about joint pain or drugs it would have one bit of difference.

[Edited 6/21/17 8:21am]

[Edited 6/21/17 8:24am]

It would be good if people put their business out in the street but that will not sell books.

purplerabbithole said:

• Outing Prince (so to speak) publically wouldn't have necessarily helped Prince check himself (especially if it is not accompanied with people he trusts doing it privately. ) Private help(and honest associates) was much more important. Public scorn alone would have just forced someone like him into more denial and isolation.

• As for his asshole moments, I guess everyone is capable of these moments. I guess I should be annoyed with Kim as well for not statng that she (herself) has had those moments. Prince was a powerful man (for his talent, his drive, his status, his charisma, his work effort) but he was also a weak man in many ways. I guess his sins, his ugly side did have a bigger impact on those around him. So, I will just assume that people like Kim and LIsa have had their asshole moments as well. They just don't matter as much because they had less of an impact on those around them. That being said, Prince's non-asshole moments also had a bigger impact on those around him than Lisa or Kim's ever did. Balanced, empathetic accounts of Prince is probably the most we will ever get. (Maybe he was a bigger asshole than many folks but he was also a bigger hero than many folks as well)

• That being said, I would still have more respect for these folks who write memoirs about their lives in which Prince played a part if they were completely upfront about themselves. It is not entirely fair to scrutunize the shit out of someone else if you don't throw a bit of that at yourself.

• As for exposing Prince's full drug addiction now that he is gone-- I am actually for an honest depiction because speculation and conspiracy theories are much much worse for his legacy now. They should tell the whole truth since so many confusing tidbits have already trickled out.

laurarichardson said:

Kim Berry said he had his asshole moments on the Mike Dean podcast. She also said he knew it as well. I still do not understand why people think if the entire free world knew about joint pain or drugs it would have one bit of difference.

[Edited 6/21/17 8:21am]

[Edited 6/21/17 8:24am]

I've listened to nearly every Kim Berry interview since Prince passed and nothing she's said is anything other than complete respect for the man. When she was in Minneapolis back in April for the Celebration events she gave an interview to local TV and at the end of the interview she broke down in tears. Nothing Kim has said or done has been disrespectful in anyway. Shelby J. said there were times when she wanted to throw a shoe at Prince (and he at her) but that they were fights like a brother and sister would have. She also said next to her father Prince was the most important man in her life and she loved him so much. Nobody is perfect. We all have our moments. Unfortunately with someone like Prince its as if he was some otherworldly being and any anecdotes portraying him as a human gets dissected and over-analyzed.

As far as drugs....I'm not aware of anyone exposing anything. No one has really come forward and said they knew X. If anything you have the opposite with what Kim posted to Instagram and Adrian Crutchfield going on Funkenberry's podcast specifically to say he didn't believe Prince was an addict. Now they both could be saying what they believe and there may be things they don't know, but I'm not aware of any Prince associate actually confirming drug addiction.

rogifan said:

I've listened to nearly every Kim Berry interview since Prince passed and nothing she's said is anything other than complete respect for the man. When she was in Minneapolis back in April for the Celebration events she gave an interview to local TV and at the end of the interview she broke down in tears. Nothing Kim has said or done has been disrespectful in anyway. Shelby J. said there were times when she wanted to throw a shoe at Prince (and he at her) but that they were fights like a brother and sister would have. She also said next to her father Prince was the most important man in her life and she loved him so much. Nobody is perfect. We all have our moments. Unfortunately with someone like Prince its as if he was some otherworldly being and any anecdotes portraying him as a human gets dissected and over-analyzed. As far as drugs....I'm not aware of anyone exposing anything. No one has really come forward and said they knew X. If anything you have the opposite with what Kim posted to Instagram and Adrian Crutchfield going on Funkenberry's podcast specifically to say he didn't believe Prince was an addict. Now they both could be saying what they believe and there may be things they don't know, but I'm not aware of any Prince associate actually confirming drug addiction.

Not one associate has confirmed he was a drug addict. I have said this 100 times. Why? Estates cannot sue for defamation and we all know what he died from.

Common sense should tell most people that something else is going on but common sense is not common. Instead let's listen to people Prince did not even trust enough to keep in touch with.