McD said:

I have no interest in TMZ or anything they report on (save our beloved PRN). But one thing strikes me about this website this last two weeks. Tabloid-esque they may be, but they have been an incredible source for breaking news and tend to get their ducks in a row before they post. They have been first with everything: from his plane incident, to a 'fatality at Paisley Park', to the lack of a will, Percocet, everything. And when they post something that is more incendiary (Prince as a cocaine user), they are at pains to tell you they have plenty of sources, but give enough info for us to discredit them if we wish (second hand info from original sources now conveniently deceased) and they counter that plenty more close to him said it never happened on their lengthy watch. So basically all the OTT stuff... HIV, murder plots, sex dungeons... I say we should ignore everything unless it appears on TMZ, and they state it as fact, not as conflicting info. Can't believe I'm backing up a website like that, but I just think we should consider them the best source by far, and one who will gladly shock us out of our shoes, but only if they think it's true. I'll admit one bit of bias I have in their favour. The plane story. It braced me a little for what followed. The last week has been bad enough as it is, but if it had been completely out of the blue... So if it ain't on TMZ I think we should just ignore it. That's all.

TMZ belongs to Warner. Just sayin'.

[Edited 4/27/16 18:27pm]

They have not reported the AIDS story though... So maybe it's not really true?

funksterr said:

They have not reported the AIDS story though... So maybe it's not really true?

Please don't believe everything they write.

SoulAlive said:

I don't know how they do it,but TMZ always seems to have "the scoop" before everyone else.As I recall,they were the first news outlet to report that Michael Jackson died.They apparently have a lot of spies everywhere.

They know a LOT(!) about Prince.

[Edited 4/27/16 18:30pm]

TMZ is the most reliable source, and the most accurate information UNTIL we get the toxicology and autopsy reports.

I really wish this forum was more organized, and have a list of what we know so far.

-His plane made an emergency landing in Illonois

-His bodyguard carried PRINCE to the ambulence, PRINCE was unresponsive.

-He checked out the hospital 3 hours later.

-TMZ states it was an over dose of Perccocet

-Few days later he has a dance party at Paisley Park

-Friday April 21 he is found dead in his elevator at Paisley.

It's pretty simple, TMZ gets fed leaks because they have deep pockets. Every sleazeball and opportunist with tea to spill knows who pays top dollar. They are able to pay top dollar because they are part of a corporate conglomerate. Plus they get big bucks, favors and scoops from powerful people with agendas to plant stories too.

I've said this before, and I'll state it again. Whether you like TMZ or not, they will find the truth. The seem gossipy, but in reality they have broken stories to the mainstrain press, and they will dig and dig and dig for the truth.

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Remember, it seems harsh, but they're not invested in Prince like we are as fans. They have no interest in protect (or hurting) anyone's legacy or reputtaiton. Their goal is to find the truth and be the first to report it. Whoever their people are that get information, get it right. They get documents, they talk to actual people who were there, not just "a source", which is code for "we're making this part up".

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While I don't want to believe the Percocet thing, it is a powerful ass drug, and very addictive. Prince wouldn't be the first, nor the last, to get hooked on it. Prince always had that personality of giving into his own vices and needs without recourse. And if he was in pain from whatever w/ the hip surgery, etc., then the addiction could be a given. I hate that ol' boy was in that state, though. It tears me up to think he was hurting that much.

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In general, TMZ is one to really keep an eye on with this story. TMZ is the first place anyone I knew heard that medics were called to Paisley Park, and that he was found already gone. Not CNN, not MSNBC, not Fox, no one else.

Someone in Princes camp is/was feeding them.

babynoz said:

It's pretty simple, TMZ gets fed leaks because they have deep pockets. Every sleazeball and opportunist with tea to spill knows who pays top dollar. They are able to pay top dollar because they are part of a corporate conglomerate. Plus they get big bucks, favors and scoops from powerful people with agendas to plant stories too.

Couldn't agree more.

Yeah, I used to discount them all the time but the fact is that they have, seemingly, been the most accurate when it comes to what was going on with Joni Mitchell and now Prince. Sad but true...

terrig said:

Someone in Princes camp is/was feeding them.

Exactly. I think they are delicately reporting, only part of the story, and in as friendly way as they can, so that they stay in the good graces, of whoever in Prince's camp they are getting confirmation from.

This is such a high profile situation that they definitely have to be careful about what they report as fact vs speculation. I'm still hearing the narcan story on Mpls local news even though the sheriff during a press conference said that was false. (Don't listen to KARE11 as they are phoning in their coverage; bringmethenews is better for local reporting.) TMZ reported that they'd heard that, but I can only imagine how hard it is to verify this stuff.

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Front page of TMZ right now is reporting Prince had a long-standing Percocet addiction. I'm hoping this isn't true. People can be incredibly callous when a person dies from anything drug-related. They write off that person as somehow deserving it.

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TMZ is saying they're getting this from multiple sources connected to the family. So yeah, like mentioned above, it's Prince's camp. But waiting for autopsy results like human beings doesn't get them clicks, so this is where we are.

[Edited 4/27/16 18:54pm]

delinquent said:

This is such a high profile situation that they definitely have to be careful about what they report as fact vs speculation. I'm still hearing the narcan story on Mpls local news even though the sheriff during a press conference said that was false. (Don't listen to KARE11 as they are phoning in their coverage; bringmethenews is better for local reporting.) TMZ reported that they'd heard that, but I can only imagine how hard it is to verify this stuff.

[Edited 4/27/16 18:53pm]

The sheriff said they didn't not give him narcan at PP when he died, but did not address anything about his being given narcan during the plane incident.

John

I agree that TMZ has some accuracy on some stories, and may very well be right in some of their reporting on Prince's death. I personally want to hold out on jumping to any conclusions until the autopsy report comes out. Even then, we may never know the truth. Was he hooked on Percoset, was it a one or two time thing, and his body couldn't handle it? Who knows?

If there is any truth to it, he probably was in some serious physical pain, and I can't blame him for wanting to relieve that pain. Even if it is true, who cares? Elvis died from prescription abuse, and he is still the King of Rock and Roll. It should lessen Prince's legacy.

It's been 7 years since I've posted here. I'm sorry it took such a tragedy for me to post again.

TMZ has gotten a lot of stories right. So sad. It's looking more and more like it was an accidental overdose. He lived such a healthy lifestyle, but even the healthiest people can become addicted to painkillers--especially if he was in a great deal of pain. Several huge stars have passed from overdoses (e.g. MJ, Elvis), so I don't think it will taint his legacy.

CBS and NBC, traditional news organizations, at this point going forward with the illegal prescriptions angle, with stories that the Drug Enforcement Agency have been contacted to track down the source of the presciptions Prince found in Prince's possesion. This means... sadly... that they have confirmation that the Sheriff's office has reached out to the DEA, which in itself means questionable prescriptions were found on scene. So the original TMZ Percocet story is now being backed by CBS and NBC. So.... it's got to be true at this point.

JasminMaria said:

babynoz said:

It's pretty simple, TMZ gets fed leaks because they have deep pockets. Every sleazeball and opportunist with tea to spill knows who pays top dollar. They are able to pay top dollar because they are part of a corporate conglomerate. Plus they get big bucks, favors and scoops from powerful people with agendas to plant stories too.

Couldn't agree more.

They are very skilled at manipulating information. They take grains of facts that get fed to them and embellish the stories to make them more salacious. He could very well have taken percs but that is not proof of the headline they plaster for click-bait. For all we know he may have taken a normal dose and had a drink or some tylenol on top of the percs, which would cause a bad reaction and a medical emergency. There's conficting information about whether he was given a save shot too.

For example, they keep implying that P went to Walgreens four times during the same week, making it appear that he was getting multiple percocet prescriptions. Gullible people will just assume that because they got a couple of things right then everything they say is holy writ. A few things they have reported that I haven't seen any evidence of. If somebody knows different post some links please.

1. They keep showing the same photo of P walking toward the SUV. There is no actual video footage of him pacing back and forth in agitation as far as I know? Furthermore if he was in excruciating hip pain and zonked on percs I would think he'd be walking unsteadly or limping at the very least if he got out of the truck at all. Why would he even get out if he was in pain and medicated?

2. P is walking toward the SUV and all you see in the background is a brick wall. Nowhere in the pic does it say Walgreen's.

3. If they know that he went there four times then why is it that we only have one photo instead of four different pictures?

4. There is no way that Walgreens, of all places would fill a perc Rx four times in a week, not even for God, much less Prince. Anybody who follows the news knows that they were in trouble with the feds last year over this issue and had to pay a huuuge fine and are still being monitored.

http://www.wthr.com/story/22916123/2013/07/23/walgreens-pharmacists-now-turning-away-some-customers-who-need-pain-meds

Am I the only one who thinks it's a littile weird for somebody to come here and suggest that we listen only toTMZ reports and take them as gospel? In my experience they get it wrong pretty often but no one ever remembers when they do. It's the same with psychics.

I think the notion that TMZ gets everything right is a myth.

PRINCE LONG-STANDING PERCOCET ADDICTION

Read more: http://www.tmz.com/#ixzz475JnqgSo

jtfolden said:

delinquent said:

This is such a high profile situation that they definitely have to be careful about what they report as fact vs speculation. I'm still hearing the narcan story on Mpls local news even though the sheriff during a press conference said that was false. (Don't listen to KARE11 as they are phoning in their coverage; bringmethenews is better for local reporting.) TMZ reported that they'd heard that, but I can only imagine how hard it is to verify this stuff.

[Edited 4/27/16 18:53pm]

The sheriff said they didn't not give him narcan at PP when he died, but did not address anything about his being given narcan during the plane incident.

John

I see, thank you for clarifying. I got the information from my therapist (we're both heartbroken).

SoupDog said:

I agree that TMZ has some accuracy on some stories, and may very well be right in some of their reporting on Prince's death. I personally want to hold out on jumping to any conclusions until the autopsy report comes out. Even then, we may never know the truth. Was he hooked on Percoset, was it a one or two time thing, and his body couldn't handle it? Who knows?

If there is any truth to it, he probably was in some serious physical pain, and I can't blame him for wanting to relieve that pain. Even if it is true, who cares? Elvis died from prescription abuse, and he is still the King of Rock and Roll. It should lessen Prince's legacy.

It's been 7 years since I've posted here. I'm sorry it took such a tragedy for me to post again.

The may very well get some details right but it doesn't mean that we necessarily have to buy into the conclusions they draw from it.

feeluupp said:

PRINCE LONG-STANDING PERCOCET ADDICTION

5.3k

1,811

4/27/2016 4:29 PM PDT BY TMZ STAFF

EXCLUSIVE

Prince was addicted to Percocet for years before his death ... TMZ has learned.

Multiple sources connected with the singer's family tell us, doctors prescribed the powerful painkiller in 2009 when he was suffering from hip problems. We're told he had corrective surgery sometime around 2010, but by then he was hooked on the drug.

Our sources say Prince developed a sometimes debilitating dependence on Percocet in the years that followed.

TMZ broke the story, Prince almost died from a Percocet OD 6 days before he was found dead in an elevator.

And as we reported, Prince made at least 4 trips to a Walgreens pharmacy near his home in the week leading up to his death.

We're told the feds are now investigating who prescribed the drug, who filled the prescriptions and under what circumstances.

Read more: http://www.tmz.com/#ixzz475JnqgSo

Where in that pic does it say Walgreens? Anybody from Chanhassen here on the org recognize this location?

delinquent said:

jtfolden said:

The sheriff said they didn't not give him narcan at PP when he died, but did not address anything about his being given narcan during the plane incident.

John

I see, thank you for clarifying. I got the information from my therapist (we're both heartbroken).

I think it was Nancy Grace who said the paramedics at the airport said he wasn't given Narcan.

I think that the officials are dotting the I's and crossing the t's. because they want to be as thorough as possible. The same reason they had CSI at PP. They don't want to be accused of messing this one up, no way. Calling in the DEA to track the prescription and verify where it came from doesn't sound odd to me for a high profile, death that wasn't witnessed by anybody. If they did find more than one bottle of pills you can bet they didn't all come from one place. I'm just going to wait and see.

TMZ are a mostlycrap based gossip agency that is full of shit, they tell lies have psychics in a room with crystal balls making things up. It is led by the Diane Diamond, responsible for such responsible and truthful programs like Hard Copy andthe sites Media Take out and National Enquirer. It is a rubbish agncy and banned in most MJ sites due to their malicious nad hurtful lies swallowed by the mouthbreeders of the world.

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They claim Prince was addicted to Cocaine and Duane was scoring the drugs for him and also he was addicted to opium. TMZ is gossiping bullshit.

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Imagine painted up red lips gossiping and telling lies. I believe nothing of TMZ, they are parasites and slander with the words they choose (Tabloid junkie).

Adorecream said:

TMZ are a mostlycrap based gossip agency that is full of shit, they tell lies have psychics in a room with crystal balls making things up. It is led by the Diane Diamond, responsible for such responsible and truthful programs like Hard Copy andthe sites Media Take out and National Enquirer. It is a rubbish agncy and banned in most MJ sites due to their malicious nad hurtful lies swallowed by the mouthbreeders of the world.

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They claim Prince was addicted to Cocaine and Duane was scoring the drugs for him and also he was addicted to opium. TMZ is gossiping bullshit.

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Imagine painted up red lips gossiping and telling lies. I believe nothing of TMZ, they are parasites and slander with the words they choose (Tabloid junkie).

That wasn't TMZ. That was DAILY MAIL.

Not supporting TMZ.

Not ever!

Also they claim sources connected to the family in order to protect the law enforcement and/or medical personnel that feed them leaks. They could have a source close to the family but that doesn't necessarily mean that other people are not involved.

The DEA story sounds like it was leaked from a Sheriff's Dept employee....it could even be a clerk or something.

CynicKill said:

Not supporting TMZ.

Not ever!

I think it's weird that somebody would even make a thread suggesting that all other news sources should be ignored?