Home Visit
Soup With Prince
by Claire Hoffman
November 24, 2008



The thirty-thousand-square-foot Italianate villa, built this century by Vanna White’s ex-husband, looks like many of the other houses in Beverly Park, a gated community in L.A., except for the bright-purple carpet that spills down the front steps to announce its new tenant: Prince. One afternoon just before the election, Prince invited a visitor over. Inside, the place was done up in a generic Mediterranean style, although there were personal flourishes here and there—a Lucite grand piano with a gold-colored “Artist Formerly Known as Prince” symbol suspended over it, purple paisley pillows on a couch. Candles scented the air, and New Age music played in the living room, where a TV screen showed images of bearded men playing flutes. 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.

“Would you like something to eat?” he asked, sidling up to the counter. Prince’s voice was surprisingly deep, like that of a much larger man. He picked up a copy of “21 Nights,” a glossy volume of photographs that he had just released. It is his first published book, a collection of highly stylized photographs of him taken during a series of gigs in London last year. “I’m really proud of this,” he said. Short original poems and a CD accompany the photographs. (Sample verse: “Who eye really am only time will tell/ 2 the almighty life 4ce that grows stronger with every chorus/ Yes give praise, lest ye b among . . . the guilty ones.”)

Limping slightly, Prince set off on a walk around his new bachelor pad. Glass doors opened onto acres of back yard, and a hot tub bubbled in the sunlight. “I have a lot of parties,” he explained. In the living room, he’d installed purple thrones on either side of a fireplace, and, nearby, along a hallway, he had hung photographs of himself, in a Moroccan villa, in various states of undress. At the end of the hall, a gauzy curtain fluttered in a doorway. “My room,” he said. “It’s private.”

Prince has lived in Los Angeles since last spring, after spending years in Minneapolis, holding court in a complex called Paisley Park, where he made thousands of songs, far away from the big labels. Seven years ago, he became a Jehovah’s Witness. He said that he had moved to L.A. so that he could understand the hearts and minds of the music moguls. “I wanted to be around people, connected to people, for work,” he said. “You know, it’s all about religion. That’s what unites people here. They all have the same religion, so I wanted to sit down with them, to understand the way they see things, how they read Scripture.”

Prince had his change of faith, he said, after a two-year-long debate with a musician friend, Larry Graham. “I don’t see it really as a conversion,” he said. “More, you know, it’s a realization. It’s like Morpheus and Neo in ‘The Matrix.’ ” He attends meetings at a local Kingdom Hall, and, like his fellow-witnesses, he leaves his gated community from time to time to knock on doors and proselytize. “Sometimes people act surprised, but mostly they’re really cool about it,” he said.

Recently, Prince hosted an executive who works for Philip Anschutz, the Christian businessman whose company owns the Staples Center. “We started talking red and blue,” Prince said. “People with money—money like that—are not affected by the stock market, and they’re not freaking out over anything. They’re just watching. So here’s how it is: you’ve got the Republicans, and basically they want to live according to this.” He pointed to a Bible. “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.”

When asked about his perspective on social issues—gay marriage, abortion—Prince tapped his Bible and 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.’ ”

Later, in the dining room, eating a bowl of carrot soup, he talked about an encounter that he described as a “teaching moment.” “There was this woman. She used to come to Paisley Park and just sit outside on the swings,” he said. “So I went out there one day and I was, like, ‘Hey, all my friends in there say you’re a stalker. And that I should call the police. But I don’t want to do that, so why don’t you tell me what you want to happen. Why are you here? How do you want this to end?’ And she didn’t really have an answer for that. In the end, all she wanted was to be seen, for me to look at her. And she left and didn’t come back.” ♦

ILLUSTRATION: Tom Bachtell

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http://www.newyorker.com/...lk_hoffman

Interesting, to say the least. I can only imagine how this thread will blow up.

I don't get it. He says that certain thngs are not in the bible. Then points to it for his answer. I don't recall gay rights mentioned in the Bible. I know he's a JW now, but there was a time he'd be sticking it wherever and doing it with whatever.

superspaceboy said:

makes me angry what a hypocrite, it quiet sad some one who 20 years ago was happy to go on stage wearing womans clothes HEAVEY make up and me flamboyant and open with his sexuality, is now an apparent no sex no swearing boring old man, but he still makes good music so i'll forgive him (btw not saying prince should drag it up and be dancing round to head anymore but still.....)

superspaceboy said:

Exactly. Does he now have selective short-term memory?

Dr Funkenberry says there are misquotes in it:

PRINCE NEW YORKER ARTICLE FULL OF MISQUOTES!!!!

Posted in Celebrity News on November 17th, 2008 by drfunkenberry

We were just sent this:

Prince did an interview with the New Yorker recently and it is CHOCK full of misquotes!!

The reporter was not allowed to use a tape recorder, and so paraphrased nearly everything.

We are told the parts qbout religion are especially misquoted.

Prince never said “God came to earth and saw people sticking it wherever and doing it with whatever and he just cleared it it out. He was like “enough”. Those are the WRITERS words, not Prince’s.

Next time, there will be a tape recorder. (Eye roll)

We want to thank Prince’s people for clearing that up.-Dr.FB

Tags: New Yorker, Prince

http://www.drfunkenberry....misquotes/

He comes across as a elitist that's out of touch with what's going on.

I wonder if I'm the only one that longs for the days where he kept a sense of mystery about him and stuck to doing what he does best.

He should clear up what he said about Gay Marriage. Otherwise he's going to lose a lot of (gay and straight) people that have previously supported him. It's 2008 Prince. Hate (which is what Prop 8 stands for) will not be tolerated by this generation.

suomynona said:

hmm Misquotes ???? hmm strange.....

incredibleD said:

Well, it's a good thing that people that read the New Yorker also subscribe to Dr. Funkenberry's blog. (Eye roll)

i'd like to know if his supposed remark on gay marriage is a misquote too.

suomynona said:

UhOh, I misread that as mosquitos.

superspaceboy said:

I read this article early this morning - I have resigned from being a Prince fan – I’ve had enough of him - I will never support another Prince project - he's like the republicans want to do God's will and the democrats do not- for a person who doesn't vote because his religion tells him not too, he sure has a lot to say on politics –

You know this really boggles me especially coming from a guy who’s had TWO DIVORCES, and in the bible, in the old testament GOD says "I hate divorce" – and even Jesus mentions how divorce in the eyes of GOD teaches others to sin and yet I’ve never read a scripture in the bible quoting GOD or Jesus about homosexuality being a sin..

Jesus himself never mentioned anything about homosexuality in the bible - only Paul did, none of Jesus disciples mentioned anything about homo relationships only Paul did and PAUL never knew Jesus personally like the disciples- its funny how we take letters that were written to a specific human being and equate them to our lives.


It amazes me how once people start reading their version of the bible how soon they are to jump on the throne and begin telling people what’s right and what’s wrong according to their interpretation.. I think its wrong for a guy to wear high heels, make up and women clothes- actually I don’t think its so much wrong just disturbing unless you confess to being a cross dresser or a transsexual etc.. but to a be “straight man” and you look like a woman or gorgeous lesbian come on now!

I am no longer a Prince fan - I have no interest in his music - the only interest I have now is exposing him for the fraud he is – any boycott that I can participate in slamming prince I am totally for it!- which includes asking the radio stations to not support his new music, sending emails / letters to television shows like Ellen since Prince is a homohpobe why should she support him, picketing outside his concerts when he comes to tour,not buying and new music, etc..

I never really understood why Prince won't let reporters use tape recorders and then acts surprised when they misquote him....
either way sounds like Prince is a republican. hehehe

oh AND this article is from the future? November 24th? today is only the 17th.
[Edited 11/17/08 9:43am]

IstenSzek said:

Even if the reporter used his own words to state Prince's opinion, I think that Prince's comment may be quite similar.

It's amazing the amount of people who think they are in a position to judge Prince as human being. To use the word hypocrite is crass. If Prince is living a Christian lifestyle now, his past doesn't make him a hypocrite. I used to get drunk at least once a week, now that I have gained Bible knowledge I no longer abuse alcohol. Does that make me a hypocrite? Of course not! People can and do change.

incredibleD said:

The

Grahams said:

I'm sorry, you lost me at the link.

Yeah, this thread is gonna get heated fast. Honestly, I can't imagine the New Yorker would get the quote too far off. They're pretty stringent about fact-checking.

I think chances are someone in Prince's PR camp read the article and realized how much it was going to piss off his remaining gay fans and is trying to do some damage control.

Personally, I'm starting to feel like I want to Get Off the Boat.

Shorty said:

Magazines have cover dates that reflect on-sale dates.

MendesCity said:

gyro34 said:

if so, that would be sad indeed. although, it wouldn't really surprise me
anymore at this point.

the thing that bugs me most about all this is that he seems to aspire more
to being a prophet these days than a musician.

his antics go beyond simply being religious imo. the things he says about
his negotiations and interactions with people and corporations reeks of a
religious fanaticism.

ok, so he lives in america where religion is still regarded more highly or
tolerated and accepted more widely (well it seems to be a norm almost) but
i can only imagine what it would be like if he tried to broker a deal over
here in say the netherlands or in germany and threw his bible in the game,
quoting scripture and asking people what their beliefs are etc.

they'd laugh at him, prince or no prince.

but that's all besides the point. imo everyone has the right to believe or
not believe how they see fit. it's just that prince's views have always and
continue ever more so to seem hypocritical and subject to change as soon as
his whims tell him something different.

Later, in the dining room, eating a bowl of carrot soup, he talked about an encounter that he described as a “teaching moment.” “There was this woman. She used to come to Paisley Park and just sit outside on the swings,” he said. “So I went out there one day and I was, like, ‘Hey, all my friends in there say you’re a stalker. And that I should call the police. But I don’t want to do that, so why don’t you tell me what you want to happen. Why are you here? How do you want this to end?’ And she didn’t really have an answer for that. In the end, all she wanted was to be seen, for me to look at her. And she left and didn’t come back.”

Okay, so how do we interpret this little passage. hmmmm

IstenSzek said:

I feel that he chooses to go in that direction. For me, it came all as a surprise. After the album 3121, I thought that he had eased up on such such beliefs.

So, that's why people in the audience laughed at him last year when he said that he was going to spend some time reading the bible.

Aren't the Jehovah Witnesses considered a cult in Europe?

So instead of waiting and hoping to see him perform I might consider sitting outside at Paisley Park waiting for him...or maybe not at this time of the year

Well does Prince or His Religion Still hate the Gays or not....cant he just say hes against gays who marry ...why does Prince always have to float in the middle like someone at a Presidents debate?
[Edited 11/17/08 10:24am]

Mirabelle said:

Watch out with the attempt at JW indocrinate you.

gyro34 said:

they are indeed. not knocking them but the average joe on the street
over here in europe considers the jehovah witness religion to be one
cookish clique.

but luckily more and more people are starting to scrutinise all the
religious propaganda that we've been brought up on or held back by.
i'll say it once again, i don't mind what others believe in but it's
rediculous how religion is the one field in this day and age that
grants people -even average joes on your block- to say and do most
anything and get away with it because of their rights to express or
profess their religion.

anyway i don't mean to kick people's shins or get into a debate on
this site when all i really meant to say is that prince is losing
the plot imo. and has been doing so for a very long time since. in
fact ever since he started to become more and more irrelevant with
his steadily corroding musical output.

CNNBREAKINGNEWS said:

Perhaps, he's afraid to lose fans?

gyro34 said:

well im still here ...

kjamal said:

Why, because he has is own oppinions about things?



What does his divorce have to do with anything? You can't force someone to stay with you. If they want to leave what can you do?



No but he did say: What comes out of you is what defiles you. For from within, out of your hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile you. (TNIV, Mark 7:20-23)

In the old testament GOD says: You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination. (NKJ, Leviticus 18:22).




That is not fair. The bible is black and white. If it says something is wrong, then it is wrong. There are fools out there that judge folks because of their interpretation but Prince isn't doing that. He was pointing things out and that was it. Now those folks who blow up abortion clinics and stand outside funerals and curse the families because the person was gay is so far from the bible...and everyone who comes from the bible shouldn't be compared to those idiots. Plus, saying these things about Prince is just as bad as what you are accusing P of doing.



Go right ahead and make a fool of yourself. I don't believe in homosexuality but I love them as a person. I have never told a gay joke. I work with and have sat down and ate with gay people. They have been at my house. I have family members who are gay. I still don't like what they are doing...That is my oppinion. Did you hear Prince (even in the mis-quotes) say anything negitive? He was sharing his beliefs and that was it. I have seen pictures of Prince and Ellen long after he became a JW and I am sure they are friends.

Question for you: If Prince said he doesn't like people who cheat on their spouses would you still slam Prince and protest? There are certain things in life that people accept and don't accept and that is thier life. As long as we treat everyone with respeact that is all that matters.

Much love...