Recently a friend told me this story. I was looking for the thread "Has Prince ever been rude to anyone in public" but couldn't find it.

So, my friend is a flight attendant for one of the 'top five' airlines in the nation, and said he got to ride with Prince sometime ago (yes, Prince was in first class). Of course, I was all questions: "What does he look like in person? Did he have attitude? Was he nice?" My friend said that Prince's handler cautioned everyone on the airline to not only NOT talk to him, but to avoid eye contact with him altogether.

I can't think of anything that would make me want to make eye contact with someone MORE except being told that I can't! Prince, again you are a genius.

Does anyone have any stories like this?

It's turned into a running joke in the bar I work at. I'll be in the middle of any number of my daily tirades about something and my customers will go: "Don't look directly at Prince!" Then, I have to look down, block our line of vision with my palm, and say "I'm sorry Mr. Prince" before I finish my story! It's fun!

robertes71 said:

I have a friend that used to work for a concert venue. Years ago, when Prince came to town for a concert, all of the employees were instructed NOT to look at him or they would be fired. You KNOW they had to be sneaking a peek, just because of that.

that is an unusual request, however, did he request that because he feels he is above everyone, or because he grows tired of people staring him down like he's a caged animal? that's what i was thinking, but I have to assume people are professional enough not to stare without being told.

I don't think it particularly rude to request special treatment from someone you are (essentially) paying to provide a service for you. However...


Having your goon squad go over to take some kid's camera because he took a picture of you walking through the airport, that's not just rude - it's criminal.

If someone ever said something like that to me, I'd just stare right at his crotch. See how paranoid that makes him.

Genesia said:

DanceWme said:

Of course, given his height (or lack thereof), it would probably be even more effective to just look right over the top of his head.

<---- is extraordinarily good at giving people complexes

If that's true i wouldn't take it as he's being mean.

Hell, i am a normal person and i am terrible when it comes to eye contact, let alone if i was famous.


What would be mean though is if the form of request includes a threat of any kind

I once read a story about the same thing happening to someone who was working closely with Prince. The story went on to state that all the while this person was trying to avoid making eye contact with Prince, Prince was going out of his way in an attempt to make eye contact with the person. The lengths the person went to to avoid eye contact was hilarious, and when he finally did make eye contact, Prince laughed. It was stated that Prince told this person that he makes that request to see how long it takes someone to make eye contact finally. It was told as it being something of a joke that Prince does to people he comes in contact with, just to see how uncomfortable he can make them as he attempts to make eye contact and they attempt to avoid it. Can't remember where I read this story though.

Genesia said:

Aren't these gemini mind games fun? Everyone likes to play ..however as stated in the previous comment of looking over his head...that could in fact very well happen with me...especially if he was in a crowd and I didn't know he was there...cause @ 5'9 looking straigt ahead, I overlook alot of people ( IE: @ a locar bar one year Kenny Chesney walked right passed me on some steps and I didn't even realize it was him until my friend pointed him out and then actually stopped him on his way back downstairs..he's not a very tall fellow either..but a really nice guy)!!

Genesia said:

it'd be kinna hard to do, seeing how the brotha is mostly head anyway.

He's probably shy and feels uncomfortable with it. But I still think it's kind of rude to demand it.

Often I find with celebrities with large entourages though, is that a lot of the time they have hangers on that demand really weird things and get pedantic and rude to staff of hotels, planes, venues etc. and then the stars themselves seem quite easy going. A lot of the time it can be entourages on an ego trip making things up to give them something to do and a sense of self importance.

I've heard the Prince/eye-contact thing before from several people though, so it might actually be at his request

LittleRedCorvette said:

I think it's all a big joke to him! But you know EVERYONE who was on that plane that day was talking about it long thereafter.

Just another way to get people's attention. That's Prince!

I also looked at it from the handler's perspective. It could be something he/she came up with in an attempt to make his flight more comfortable.

That's SO Prince...and I love it!

who knows if it's really true or if he does it as kind of a joke (that is kinda funny) but all I know is and I've said it before is Prince is stared at relentlessly, so I wouldn't doubt that it's an attempt to just curb the staring.

It wouldn't kurb my staring!
It's a what d'you call it? ... Well one of the drawbacks for being in show-business - people staring
AN OCCUPATIONAL HAZZARD and is therefore part of a very well paid job.
2 hell wid' it I'd stare, me!

Ellie said:

this is so true... i work in Tribeca in NY and Will Smith was shooting a movie in the neighborhood recently and on our luchbreak we would go outside to watch and a couple of us went over to his trailer hoping to get a better view of him and one his handlers was so nasty.. telling a girl in the group that who asked if she could take a picture with him(thats not going to happen) and when will came out he hugged her and took pictures with all of us

Kinda off topic but I almost always look people square in the eye during conversations especially if discussing something important. It really makes most people uneasy and uncomfortable though. If you haven't already done this try it on someone just to see their reaction. Its like nowadays you can have sex with someone within the first 4 hours of meeting them, but if you look them in the eyes while they are talking , they get so weird... I could see why a person like P wouldn't want to be making eye contact with everyone he meets, its so personal and it can make you feel vulnerable if you don't know who you are staring at. Ever notice how dogs hate eye contact too? Anyway though I love getting people's reaction when I give them 100% attention while they speak. I think it throws most people off balance because looking someone in the eyes requires a certain amount of honesty.

It's gotta be a joke! He gets a good laugh! Last time I saw him at a show during sound check, I looked directly into his eyes for several seconds while I was walking by and he didn't seem bothered in the least....mind you...I wasn't acting like I was going to jump him...LOL! There is something to be said for controlling yourself!

banks said:

That's funny, my niece was there with her friends when Will was filming and I forgot the actor that's married to Tisha Campbell, I think his name is Duane, anyway, I believe he's in that movie with Will and he was so nice, my niece and her friends asked for a picture and he was so nice, that he took pictures with my niece and her friends. They said they saw Will and he was saying hi to everybody, but was busy of course with his camp trying to do the filming,

Ever notice how dogs hate eye contact too?

Anyway though I love getting people's reaction when I give them 100% attention while they speak. I think it throws most people off balance because looking someone in the eyes requires a certain amount of honesty.


**** Dog hate eye contact bcuz they interpretate it as u were challenging them. Infact if a dog is attacking u the main thing 2 avoid is the contact eye.
Therefore if u have 2 train a dog u MUST LOOK at ur eyes bcuz he has 2 understand that u r his leader.

I dont feel uncomfortable if a person looks at my eyes. I dont like when ppl avoid it.

Prince looked at me straightly in my eyes.... He has deep light brown eyes...

Well...being a Sexy Beautiful One myself...I can understand what Prince must go through. I get stared at relentlessly and I'm far from famous, just fine as hell and when I'm not in the mood for it, it can really annoy the hell out of me!

Now when I think of how that's magnified when it's concerning Prince, I really can't blame him. I can't make special requests for people to stop staring at me but I damn sure would if I could!

thedribbler said:

I can understand the urge to stare...I wanted to untill I saw how out bad it really was. At the first celebration, as soon as the man walked in the room there was a crowd of people around him (he was behind in like a soundboard area)they stood and stared at him constantly, to the point where he'd occasionally turn his back just to get a break. It was quite sad really, he was like a zoo animal, I felt for him.

SexyBeautifulOne said:

WOW a "Sexy Beautiful One" that is "fine as hell"...that's what I want to be when I grow up!

How EXACTLY does all of that look?

lizlampkin said:

Exactly like me!

This " No eye contact" thing has been going on since the 80s. Weird Al Yankovic mentioned it on one of those VH1 "remember the 80s" specials.When he attended the 1985 Grammies, he & those sitting around Prince, was given specific instructions not to stare directly at him.

Darla said:

what, otherwise he'd spontaneously combust or something?

"do not taunt Happy Fun Prince."

On HQ someone said they spoke 2 one of the club 3121 employess and they arent allowed 2 speak unless spoken 2 or look Prince in the eyes
...the person could be lying but...who knows

thedribbler said:

i wouldn't call it a hazard...more like a by-product of stardom, really.

Shorty said:

that's what i've never understood about those who just constantly stare at him simply because he's there...everything else that's going on in the room! all the people one could be making friends with! the vibe in the place!...and muthafuckas just gawk at him as if he were an exhibit at the science center or something. it's really unnerving to me.