Serious fans know of Andea Swensson of The Current AND her great book GOT TO BE SOMETHING HERE. If you haven't got that one yet, you are missing out on lots of important history.

In a panel held this week, she offers perhaps the best explanation why Prince is no longer here:

"During the Q&A session, an audience member asked how Prince’s death could create a potential positive change for the Opioid Epidemic. Andrea clarified that Prince’s death was actually part of an epidemic of mental health stigma surrounding musicians and public figures. Prince’s death was the result of being in “a lot of pain and [being] scared to tell anyone.”

I had to think about that...but I think she's correct. He didn't want to admit he wasn't as strong as he'd been in his earlier life and never wanted to admit an addiction -- so he hid it. He wanted to give his fam THE FULL PRINCE, no matter the cost to himself. Remember when he said "what if everyone left me?"
Lisa Coleman said essentially the same thing last year: (paraphrasing) "My friend isn't here because he couldn't say he was getting older..."

https://www.peopleofpaisl...e-mourning

[Edited 11/13/17 11:42am]

laytonian said:

Serious fans know of Andea Swensson of The Current AND her great book GOT TO BE SOMETHING HERE. If you haven't got that one yet, you are missing out on lots of important history.

In a panel held this week, she offers perhaps the best explanation why Prince is no longer here:

"During the Q&A session, an audience member asked how Prince’s death could create a potential positive change for the Opioid Epidemic. Andrea clarified that Prince’s death was actually part of an epidemic of mental health stigma surrounding musicians and public figures. Prince’s death was the result of being in “a lot of pain and [being] scared to tell anyone.”

I had to think about that...but I think she's correct. He didn't want to admit he wasn't as strong as he'd been in his earlier life and never wanted to admit an addiction -- so he hid it. He wanted to give his fam THE FULL PRINCE, no matter the cost to himself. Remember when he said "what if everyone left me?"
Lisa Coleman said essentially the same thing last year: (paraphrasing) "My friend isn't here because he couldn't say he was getting older..."

https://www.peopleofpaisl...e-mourning

[Edited 11/13/17 11:42am]

the quite is pretty clearly true. Not only not wantign to tell anyone, not wanting to let anyone find out. That's how he ended up with what turned out to be deadly counterfeit painkillers instead of ones prescribed by a doctor. It's also very likely why he left the hospital after the emergency landing. He should have gone staight to rehab from there, instead he goes back home and opens Paisley Park to tell people all is fine and not worry about him.

It's consistent with how he lived. He sat cheerily with Oprah saying everything with his child was "all good" when he and Mayte had gone through the unimaginable pain of their child's death just weeks before. I understand wanting privacy but pretending like nothing is wrong isn't healthy. Cancel the interview and release a simple "please respect our privacy during this difficult time" statement. I don't think Prince liked acknowledging that anything was beyond his control, and sadly here we are.

Swensson is just another person with another theory.

paulludvig said:

laytonian said:

renfield said:

paulludvig said:

Swensson is just another person with another theory.

Yeah, another theory...........

laurarichardson said:

renfield said:

It's consistent with how he lived. He sat cheerily with Oprah saying everything with his child was "all good" when he and Mayte had gone through the unimaginable pain of their child's death just weeks before. I understand wanting privacy but pretending like nothing is wrong isn't healthy. Cancel the interview and release a simple "please respect our privacy during this difficult time" statement. I don't think Prince liked acknowledging that anything was beyond his control, and sadly here we are.

—Telling the entire free world your personal business is not healthy either. What in the world would getting on T.V. done to bring back that child or sooth the pain? He was on that program to promote his album not use his child’s death for PR. I still cannot believe anyone thinks publicizing his child death would have been a good move? It would have been tacky and crass.

I never said publicize it or use it as PR. That's stupid, don't put words in my mouth. But to pretend it didn't happen is bizarre. If you don't want to discuss it at all (totally his right) then don't go on Oprah. That's REALLY simple. Yes his album would have suffered from the lack of promotion but that's probably a minor concern to an already wealthy legend who's just gone through a major personal trauma. Prince dealt with personal issues by throwing himself into his work, and it was ultimately unhealthy for him.

laurarichardson said:

luv4u said:

Do you honestly think he only went on Oprah to promote an album?? Prince hardly promoted his work anyway. LIve performances for albums he never intended on releasing fully--sure but how often did he do shows like Oprah. Keep in mind that the tabloids were already on the story of his son's death. If he had canceled his appearance on Oprah, the speculation and scrutiny might have been even worse.. I think what P did was say to the world "Yes, something that is private happened to our child, but we are still a family and will keep trying to have kids...that is all. We have addressed it" I think he thought it would help to stem off scrutiny and would help Mayte move on. ALong with P's belief in reincarnation (remember when he states in the song "Comeback" --"if you lose someone dear to you, never say the words 'they're gone', they'll come back", he was trying to be strong and find a silver lining or a way to cope. P might have been in denial but I doubt he cared that much if he canceled an appearance. Remember this is the dude who refused to do "We Are the World" and barely promoted Around the World in a Day.

renfield said:

laurarichardson said:

renfield said: —Telling the entire free world your personal business is not healthy either. What in the world would getting on T.V. done to bring back that child or sooth the pain? He was on that program to promote his album not use his child’s death for PR. I still cannot believe anyone thinks publicizing his child death would have been a good move? It would have been tacky and crass.

I never said publicize it or use it as PR. That's stupid, don't put words in my mouth. But to pretend it didn't happen is bizarre. If you don't want to discuss it at all (totally his right) then don't go on Oprah. That's REALLY simple. Yes his album would have suffered from the lack of promotion but that's probably a minor concern to an already wealthy legend who's just gone through a major personal trauma. Prince dealt with personal issues by throwing himself into his work, and it was ultimately unhealthy for him.

laytonian said:

luv4u said:

Yes, he did go on Oprah to promote his album. He certainly did not go on Oprah to talk about his child's death. He had just signed a new deal with EMI and there was a hugh marketing plan for Emancipation. Part of that marketing plan included interviews and promotional apperences of which their were many. The tabloids did not get on the story until after that interview and only when the nannies started running their mouths.

The Oprah apperence was planned ahead of time along with other promotional apperences. I recently saw an interview in did in Japan around the same time.

I think the rest of your comments are just your thoughts. I think he just choose to keep his business to himself and I still think promoting the album and talking about the child would have been crass and tacky. It is absurd to say he was in a state of denial when it was Mayte that would not let go of the urn.

Do you honestly think he only went on Oprah to promote an album?? Prince hardly promoted his work anyway. LIve performances for albums he never intended on releasing fully--sure but how often did he do shows like Oprah. Keep in mind that the tabloids were already on the story of his son's death. If he had canceled his appearance on Oprah, the speculation and scrutiny might have been even worse.. I think what P did was say to the world "Yes, something that is private happened to our child, but we are still a family and will keep trying to have kids...that is all. We have addressed it" I think he thought it would help to stem off scrutiny and would help Mayte move on. ALong with P's belief in reincarnation (remember when he states in the song "Comeback" --"if you lose someone dear to you, never say the words 'they're gone', they'll come back", he was trying to be strong and find a silver lining or a way to cope. P might have been in denial but I doubt he cared that much if he canceled an appearance. Remember this is the dude who refused to do "We Are the World" and barely promoted Around the World in a Day.

renfield said:

I never said publicize it or use it as PR. That's stupid, don't put words in my mouth. But to pretend it didn't happen is bizarre. If you don't want to discuss it at all (totally his right) then don't go on Oprah. That's REALLY simple. Yes his album would have suffered from the lack of promotion but that's probably a minor concern to an already wealthy legend who's just gone through a major personal trauma. Prince dealt with personal issues by throwing himself into his work, and it was ultimately unhealthy for him.

laurarichardson said:

why do people always think they would know what's "the right thing" or "good" or "healthy" for others? this is questionable enough irl but when it comes to a person y'all don't even know it's just laughable. well maybe he just wanted the world to talk about his music, his performances and his clothes instead of his losses, his pain, his realationships and other personal stuff which was none of our business. maybe he just didn't want others to tell him what to do, how to feel or what's healthy or good for him or judging him. maybe he just made his own decisions like he was used to since he was out at the streets as a 12 years old kid. maybe none of y'all can understand his decisions but that doesn't make them the wrong ones for him. it was his journey!

You are missing my point. I am saying he wasn't ONLY continuing with the campaign because of his concerns for the record. His promotional campaign for Emancipation was already in place. any deviation from the plan would alert the media and the public to more trouble at home. Plus, even a man suffering from a loss has to work for a living. I agree that talking about the child would have been crass and that keeping stuff out of the public eye was not a bad thing. What I was reacting to was the notion that P should have definitely just stayed home and not uphold his obligations. TO do so would bring more suspicions and eventually he would have to say something.. So, he let Oprah quickly address the baby's death which obviously already out there) in a subtle way and P was able to put the matter down a bit (to get in front of the narrative before the story got out of his hands...that is until the nannies ran their mouths. Was it the right move? I don't know but I hate when people act like he somehow cared less than Mayte because he was unable to stay home and mourn when his son died. Wallowing (for a lack of a better word) in his pain just probably didn't seem like an option for him. It never did in the past.

laurarichardson said:

Yes, he did go on Oprah to promote his album. He certainly did not go on Oprah to talk about his child's death. He had just signed a new deal with EMI and there was a hugh marketing plan for Emancipation. Part of that marketing plan included interviews and promotional apperences of which their were many. The tabloids did not get on the story until after that interview and only when the nannies started running their mouths.

The Oprah apperence was planned ahead of time along with other promotional apperences. I recently saw an interview in did in Japan around the same time.

I think the rest of your comments are just your thoughts. I think he just choose to keep his business to himself and I still think promoting the album and talking about the child would have been crass and tacky. It is absurd to say he was in a state of denial when it was Mayte that would not let go of the urn.

Do you honestly think he only went on Oprah to promote an album?? Prince hardly promoted his work anyway. LIve performances for albums he never intended on releasing fully--sure but how often did he do shows like Oprah. Keep in mind that the tabloids were already on the story of his son's death. If he had canceled his appearance on Oprah, the speculation and scrutiny might have been even worse.. I think what P did was say to the world "Yes, something that is private happened to our child, but we are still a family and will keep trying to have kids...that is all. We have addressed it" I think he thought it would help to stem off scrutiny and would help Mayte move on. ALong with P's belief in reincarnation (remember when he states in the song "Comeback" --"if you lose someone dear to you, never say the words 'they're gone', they'll come back", he was trying to be strong and find a silver lining or a way to cope. P might have been in denial but I doubt he cared that much if he canceled an appearance. Remember this is the dude who refused to do "We Are the World" and barely promoted Around the World in a Day.

[Edited 11/13/17 18:18pm]

Thank you. Obviously it was out there or Oprah wouldn't have addressed the issue. I am not just pulling my opinions out of thin air. I also want to add that people acting like P just pretended that the baby was alive is bullshit. He never said that. I have seen the interview more than a few times. He never once denied that the baby perished. He just used vague optimism and spirituality to mask the severity of the loss. His face/eyes tell a different story.

He was promoting the album, but what P understood is that keeping completely quiet about a dead baby would just make people suspect even more, especially when a once pregnant wife is never seen with a baby. So, he threw the media a small bone (the nursery, the vague notion that he and his wife were recovering and going forward but he did so without going into detail). It all seemed like P's way of getting in control of things. Unfortunately, where I suspect a sense of denial is his notion that they could recover through moving forward and never saying the child died. (LIke he said in the song Comeback..."never say the words, theyre gone and they'll comeback."

As for the best way to recover from that loss, I certainly don't think tell-all books are theraputic or cathartic. Diary entries, therapy, long talks with family members, a psycharist--those folks would be much more helpful to recovery. Writing a book or pouring your heart out to Oprah would be just be good for attention and as a way to obtain sympathy from strangers. Fan love is great but it doesn't substitute for one-on-one interaction. Sadly, I am not sure P even got the latter.

SoulAlive said:

laurarichardson said:

The tabloids did not get on the story until after that interview and only when the nannies started running their mouths.

Nope that’s not true.The National Enquirer ran a huge story about the baby’s death a few weeks before the Oprah episode aired.

lemoncrush19 said:

why do people always think they would know what's "the right thing" or "good" or "healthy" for others? this is questionable enough irl but when it comes to a person y'all don't even know it's just laughable. well maybe he just wanted the world to talk about his music, his performances and his clothes instead of his losses, his pain, his realationships and other personal stuff which was none of our business. maybe he just didn't want others to tell him what to do, how to feel or what's healthy or good for him or judging him. maybe he just made his own decisions like he was used to since he was out at the streets as a 12 years old kid. maybe none of y'all can understand his decisions but that doesn't make them the wrong ones for him. it was his journey!

Exactly, his choice to do as he please and what worked for him.

SoulAlive said:

laurarichardson said:

The tabloids did not get on the story until after that interview and only when the nannies started running their mouths.

Nope that’s not true.The National Enquirer ran a huge story about the baby’s death a few weeks before the Oprah episode aired.

Why would Prince pay attention to or address anything in the National Enquirer? If this is even true as I do not recall hearubg anything about the child dying until after the Oprah interview but even still why on God's green earth would he address a tabloid rumor about something so personal.

"He was promoting the album, but what P understood is that keeping completely quiet about a dead baby would just make people suspect even more, especially when a once pregnant wife is never seen with a baby. So, he threw the media a small bone (the nursery, the vague notion that he and his wife were recovering and going forward but he did so without going into detail). It all seemed like P's way of getting in control of things. Unfortunately, where I suspect a sense of denial is his notion that they could recover through moving forward and never saying the child died. (LIke he said in the song Comeback..."never say the words, theyre gone and they'll comeback."

Wrong. Tacky and crass to be on that show promoting an album and talking about a dead child. How do these two topics go together? " My child died but nevermind all let's talk about this album I have to sell.

I also doubt we were ever going to see any child of Prince's on T.V ever.

I do not think he was in deinal I simply think he thought it was no one's business and he was correct.

If the nannies had not talked to the tabloid media we would have never known anything at all.

purplerabbithole said:

Thank you. Obviously it was out there or Oprah wouldn't have addressed the issue. I am not just pulling my opinions out of thin air. I also want to add that people acting like P just pretended that the baby was alive is bullshit. He never said that. I have seen the interview more than a few times. He never once denied that the baby perished. He just used vague optimism and spirituality to mask the severity of the loss. His face/eyes tell a different story.

He was promoting the album, but what P understood is that keeping completely quiet about a dead baby would just make people suspect even more, especially when a once pregnant wife is never seen with a baby. So, he threw the media a small bone (the nursery, the vague notion that he and his wife were recovering and going forward but he did so without going into detail). It all seemed like P's way of getting in control of things. Unfortunately, where I suspect a sense of denial is his notion that they could recover through moving forward and never saying the child died. (LIke he said in the song Comeback..."never say the words, theyre gone and they'll comeback."

As for the best way to recover from that loss, I certainly don't think tell-all books are theraputic or cathartic. Diary entries, therapy, long talks with family members, a psycharist--those folks would be much more helpful to recovery. Writing a book or pouring your heart out to Oprah would be just be good for attention and as a way to obtain sympathy from strangers. Fan love is great but it doesn't substitute for one-on-one interaction. Sadly, I am not sure P even got the latter.

SoulAlive said:

laurarichardson said: Nope that’s not true.The National Enquirer ran a huge story about the baby’s death a few weeks before the Oprah episode aired.

luv4u said:

paulludvig said:

Swensson is just another person with another theory.

Yeah, another theory...........

Yep...and another thread,

lemoncrush19 said:

why do people always think they would know what's "the right thing" or "good" or "healthy" for others? this is questionable enough irl but when it comes to a person y'all don't even know it's just laughable. well maybe he just wanted the world to talk about his music, his performances and his clothes instead of his losses, his pain, his realationships and other personal stuff which was none of our business. maybe he just didn't want others to tell him what to do, how to feel or what's healthy or good for him or judging him. maybe he just made his own decisions like he was used to since he was out at the streets as a 12 years old kid. maybe none of y'all can understand his decisions but that doesn't make them the wrong ones for him. it was his journey!

Quoted for emphasis.

Oprah asked him about the baby in the interview implying that something had gone wrong. The hints were already out there. I don't think he would have completely hidden a living baby from the world but I also think he would have kept his personal life either private or just imply to it in a vague sense in his music. He had this kid's heartbeat on an album and a picture of Mayte's pregnant belly on the liner notes but of course he didn't describe the hardships they were having. People were going to ask about his kid, living or dead...and apparently it was in the air that something had gone wrong. NOt appearing at an already scheduled telecast would only confirm that the problem was huge. Who knows maybe after the Emancipation stuff, people was planning on taking a break but then life threw him more curveballs so he ran back to work. . The vibe that I got from the interview is that P was not pretending that baby was alive. He was trying to be cryptic and vague enough that folks would hopefully just let it rest. It felt to me like a subtle way to tell people that he and his wife were handling it and that it was really none of their business. He never denied that there had been a problem but he didn't elaborate so that people would hopefully drop the subject. That's the bone I am talking about. Not denying the loss and not making cancellations was just him puttingon a brave face without having to lie.

laurarichardson said:

SoulAlive said:

laurarichardson said: Nope that’s not true.The National Enquirer ran a huge story about the baby’s death a few weeks before the Oprah episode aired.

Why would Prince pay attention to or address anything in the National Enquirer? If this is even true as I do not recall hearubg anything about the child dying until after the Oprah interview but even still why on God's green earth would he address a tabloid rumor about something so personal.

the thing still stinks of a coverrup and people not being there don't know any more than we do. I still vascillate on what happened, even this morning i was trying to find the source for the rumours of people swearing that cnn said there were shots fired at PP, many people said they heard this yet there is no evidence, fucking strange.

laytonian said:

Serious fans know of Andea Swensson of The Current AND her great book GOT TO BE SOMETHING HERE. If you haven't got that one yet, you are missing out on lots of important history.

In a panel held this week, she offers perhaps the best explanation why Prince is no longer here:

"During the Q&A session, an audience member asked how Prince’s death could create a potential positive change for the Opioid Epidemic. Andrea clarified that Prince’s death was actually part of an epidemic of mental health stigma surrounding musicians and public figures. Prince’s death was the result of being in “a lot of pain and [being] scared to tell anyone.”

I had to think about that...but I think she's correct. He didn't want to admit he wasn't as strong as he'd been in his earlier life and never wanted to admit an addiction -- so he hid it. He wanted to give his fam THE FULL PRINCE, no matter the cost to himself. Remember when he said "what if everyone left me?"
Lisa Coleman said essentially the same thing last year: (paraphrasing) "My friend isn't here because he couldn't say he was getting older..."

https://www.peopleofpaisl...e-mourning

[Edited 11/13/17 11:42am]

luv4u said:

paulludvig said:

Swensson is just another person with another theory.

Yeah, another theory...........

I fall into this category too, he is not alive anymore. He passed away....as sad as that is!

DC

[Edited 11/14/17 1:39am]

A coverrup for what exactly?

PeteSilas said:

the thing still stinks of a coverrup and people not being there don't know any more than we do. I still vascillate on what happened, even this morning i was trying to find the source for the rumours of people swearing that cnn said there were shots fired at PP, many people said they heard this yet there is no evidence, fucking strange.

laytonian said:

Serious fans know of Andea Swensson of The Current AND her great book GOT TO BE SOMETHING HERE. If you haven't got that one yet, you are missing out on lots of important history.

In a panel held this week, she offers perhaps the best explanation why Prince is no longer here:

"During the Q&A session, an audience member asked how Prince’s death could create a potential positive change for the Opioid Epidemic. Andrea clarified that Prince’s death was actually part of an epidemic of mental health stigma surrounding musicians and public figures. Prince’s death was the result of being in “a lot of pain and [being] scared to tell anyone.”

I had to think about that...but I think she's correct. He didn't want to admit he wasn't as strong as he'd been in his earlier life and never wanted to admit an addiction -- so he hid it. He wanted to give his fam THE FULL PRINCE, no matter the cost to himself. Remember when he said "what if everyone left me?"
Lisa Coleman said essentially the same thing last year: (paraphrasing) "My friend isn't here because he couldn't say he was getting older..."

https://www.peopleofpaisl...e-mourning

[Edited 11/13/17 11:42am]

luv4u said:

paulludvig said:

Swensson is just another person with another theory.

Yeah, another theory...........

Why a theory? If he ws indeed self medicating for pain and knowing Prince of course he would hide his maladies from the world, for various reasons. First, because of insurance, just like Laura has said. Secondly, can you imagine the questioning if he had at least admitted to hip pain, surgery, whatever? Interviews would be filled with questions about his health and that would take center stage in all things Prince related. Thirdly, and as it has been widely discussed on this board for over a year now, he was extremely private. He hid the death of his own child, don't you think he would hide his physical pain too?

ThatWhiteDude said:

A coverrup for what exactly?

PeteSilas said:

the thing still stinks of a coverrup and people not being there don't know any more than we do. I still vascillate on what happened, even this morning i was trying to find the source for the rumours of people swearing that cnn said there were shots fired at PP, many people said they heard this yet there is no evidence, fucking strange.

of something, what i don't know, that's what i want to know. it does happen, there wasa bodybuilder who died recently, his autopsy says "undetermined" people are brainwashed to believe what officials tell them, it's obvious the bodybuilder died of something related to steroids/drugs and it's being covered up. what about the shots? i've heard it many times, that it was reported on cnn, many people are swearing they heard this, what the fuck is going on? that's strange as fuck to me, if you like it though, i love it.