Prince is authentic. He is who he is, and who he portrays himself to be. As are we all. The problem isn't with "how" authentic Prince is, but with people's expectations of who they think Prince is, or who they think he should be, or who they want him to be from previous ideas of him.

When someone clings to an idea of who a person should be, or who they thought he was, etc., then when that person acts authentically upon who they are now, the other becomes upset or disillusioned or even hurt, because they want that person to remain authentic to the idea they cling to of who he was in the past or of who they thought he was in the past. The only constant in life is change. As Prince has grown older, his presence has changed to reflect that, but has remained authentic to who Prince is in this moment.

You know, when Prince has done something that others think he shouldn't, or when they become upset by some decision he has made, I always wonder who they think Prince should be? It is not that they accept Prince for who he is, but rather that they have become hurt/upset/angry because Prince has not lived up to their expectations of Prince. Prince, in fact, is always just who he is. It's our expectations of him that color our reactions to decisions he has made in his reflection of who he is and has nothing to do with his decisions/choices. Our expectations, our ideas, our concepts, do not reflect the truth of who he is. He is who he is...our expectations, ideas, concepts attempt to make him fit a mold that we have created. And Prince will break any mold we attempt to put him in.