Haystack said:

I love this description of Prince by the writer:

Prince padded into the kitchen, a small fifty-year-old man in yoga pants and a big sweater, wearing platform flip-flops over white socks, like a geisha.

and yes there are a ton of sites reporting this, i see a backlash coming!!

Madison88 said:

"Hey You," is boring...I'm gonna call Prince...SexyDaddySugarDumplin'HoneyBabyRockin'loverJazzySnazz."

EmeraldSkies said:

i think perez is getting the info second hand from the funkenberry site, which i guess means gaywired is getting the info third hand from perez.

When I went to a JW meeting and meet with some ladies for a bit to learn what I could... one of the main points they kept making was that JW's don't proselytize. Prince states that's what he does.....????? It just gets more and more strange.....

Madison88 said:

Yes they do. That is one of the main doctrines of the religion. Spread the word, knock on as many doors as you can.

Colyr said:

The ladies I met with in LA said that they are far from doing that much anymore because of they way things are now.....I was contacted by a letter...I thought that was a much better way of approaching things... it still took me a year to take the time to call...once I heard that Prince was in some way practicing their religion I got interested because I was very very impressed with the Musicology tour.....and how his career seemed to rebound... ...the ladies truly said the door to door method was outdated and not appropriate anymore.... there were letters flyers and emails and such... maybe they lie to you... I don't know I only know what I was told....

think about it.... it's very very dangerous these days to be knocking on peoples doors... not to mention for Prince... It just doesn't make any sense.....
[Edited 11/17/08 20:46pm]

Prince's riff on gay marriage rocks the world

Citing the Bible and tapping it as well, the rock star talked with the New Yorker about being a Jehovah's Witness, sex and life among the red and blue.

By CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER, Star Tribune

Last update: November 17, 2008 - 9:29 PM


Call it a sign o' the times or just another miscalculated controversy, but Prince is strumming up headlines again -- this time for allegedly speaking out against the sexual freedoms he used to champion.

In an interview with the New Yorker magazine that reflects on his continuing life as a Jehovah's Witness, Minneapolis' most famous (and famously scandal-prone) musical son reportedly tapped on a Bible as he said, "God came to Earth and saw people sticking it wherever and doing it with whatever, and he just cleared it all out. He was, like, 'Enough.'"

The interview was conducted at Prince's new mansion in Beverly Hills, Calif., where gay marriage has been an omnipresent topic surrounding the newly passed Proposition 8 ban. Prince has maintained a Los Angeles-area residence for decades and has mostly lived there full time since his divorce in 2006.

"So here's how it is: You've got the Republicans, and basically they want to live according to [the Bible]," the article quotes him as saying. "But there's the problem of interpretation, and you've got some churches, some people, basically doing things and saying it comes from here, but it doesn't. And then on the opposite end of the spectrum you've got blue, you've got the Democrats, and they're, like, 'You can do whatever you want.' Gay marriage, whatever. But neither of them is right."

Like a lot of the singer's controversies, this one was greeted with curiosity or disdain but not exactly shock by fans and industry watchers. On the fan message board Prince.org, reactions ranged from dismay to denouncement to arguments that the singer was misquoted.

Popular blog sites such as Perez Hilton (whose namesake author is gay) and the Huffington Post followed up initial, outraged reports on the article by citing "a Prince insider" who denounced the story, accusing the reporter of not using a tape recorder. The singer, however, has disallowed recorders in interviews for decades. No official statement from Prince about the article has been offered.

Minneapolis DJ/rapper Tori Fixx, an openly gay performer hired by Prince for parties at his now-shuttered Paisley Park studios in Chanhassen, did not doubt the validity of the interview.

"Prince, of all people, knows not to comment to the press if it's something he really doesn't want to talk about," Fixx said, calling the comments "a slap in the face."

"He would know as well as anybody that probably half his audience is gay/lesbian people, which comes from years of playing with androgyny and stereotypes. He sure had no trouble making money off those people all those years."

Chris Riemenschneider • 612-673-4658

FUCK LARRY GRAHAM & PRINCE UP THEIR STUPID, BACKWARD, BIGOTED ASSHOLES. And yeah, "FUCK THEM" in the gay way. It's 2008, Prince, time to see the world for what it is: as diverse as it is. As accepting as it should be. You just have to pull your head out of your ass first.

My guess: the quote is probably more or less accurate (no tape recorders, so obviously there could be slight alterations due to subjective recall) but is very likely placed out of context. The reporter sounds reliable and she's (he?) writing for the New Yorker which is one of the most reputable fact-checking rags around.
I imagine that, as she said, they had a longer conversation and that P probably also talked about tolerance and love but also mentioned that he lives by the bible which is clearly opposed to homosexuality. That wouldn't IMO make him "anti-gay" or homophobic, but it does make him careless and stupid in thinking that the reporter wouldn't quote him on it.

I actually hold a similar position itself - I respect other people's belief systems and behavior as long as it doesn't harm others. I myself try to follow Jewish law which includes the proscription of homosexual sex (although there are some interesting new interpretations...). I don't think that a personal belief that a kind of behavior is forbidden requires intolerance or hate towards those who practice it.

I'm not trying to be apologist for P here - with his careless mouth and insensitive comments, he could well have said something offensive. Even his antisemitic implications on TRC (which I see as inexcusable) I think are more related to insensitivity, confusion and a lack of clarity than hate (see e.g. the King quote at the end of Family Name)

OK - that's a bit more than 2cents...

viewaskew said:

he doesnt really believe in any of that stuff

nor does he live a Jehovah's Witness lifestyle.

its just something he hides behind to make himself look righteous

Anxiety said:

omg michael was so hot back then

I am wondering if this allegedly misquoted quote would now put an end to Imaho and Supa's "Prince is gay" rumour threads.
[Edited 11/18/08 3:00am]

Word is spreading and the backlash isn't pretty! That probably explains the back peddling. It's really too bad that I don't care enough anymore to stand up for the guy but oh well, he brought that on himself!

http://www.huffingtonpost...44338.html
[Edited 11/17/08 20:05pm]