I've spoken to many fellow fans & we are all in obvious turmoil after the release of the documents. Many are confused, angry, sympathetic, unwavering in their love. It is probably too soon to ask but has all this affected your opinion of him?

Personally I am:

Sad - to think of how much physical pain he was in for such a long time - utterly heartbreaking

Love - unwavering - NOTHING will diminish that ever.

Confused - Who was the real Prince? Terrible to think that the genuis we saw perform on stage, interviewed so well on TV etc was a mirage. Was the superconfidence just a front?

Angry - that he didn't seek help & that his need to be seen as 'PRINCE' / his desperation for privacy could have been avoided.

These last few days have been incredibly hard, too many awful insights into his behaviour & addiction BUT my love of him remains AND my joy of his music will last forever.

Nothing has changed for me.

My perception or my love of Prince has not changed at all. I have made the decision to avoid the documents as much as I possibly can. I don't need or want to know the nitty gritty details of his death or the investigation. I am sad to learn he was in so much pain. It's very sad that he didn't seek professional help. If he had've been more open about this life and his health, perhaps he could've received the help he so needed. In the end, he's still Prince. Still the genius musician I fell in love with 35 years ago. We are so fortunate to have his music and memories of the live concerts we've seen over the years.

Mumio said:

Actually since his passing my estimation of Prince The Man has actually grown!

Even in illness (and probable chemical dependency) he was until the end the total professional...

And also his secret acts of kindness and charity in the last few years of life...

Nothing has changed, for me. I always knew Prince was a human being. A genius, yes - but ultimately, a person who had faults, failings, and frailties just like the rest of us.

soladeo1 said:

Actually since his passing my estimation of Prince The Man has actually grown!

Even in illness (and probable chemical dependency) he was until the end the total professional...

And also his secret acts of kindness and charity in the last few years of life...

great point.

Genesia said:

Nothing has changed, for me. I always knew Prince was a human being. A genius, yes - but ultimately, a person who had faults, failings, and frailties just like the rest of us.

Nothing much has changed as a fan although i'm sad I will never again get to hear his take on whatever is currently happening in music.

I suppose I feel a deep sorrow for him now that I was always reticent to feel when he was alive because he kept his problems so well hidden, even if we had our suspicions.

[Edited 4/23/18 10:48am]

Nothing has changed for me.

I still feel the same. We all have our struggles and P ain't no different. He gave of himself and I was fortunate enough to take part in supporting him. When he was alive I never took him for granted knowing one day he would be gone. A lot of people on the Org would be critical of him each time he would release new music. Must suck to be famous to some degree. What can you do? He's gone now and thankfully we have so much music to enjoy.

Yes, it has changed my view on how I perceive his life. I used to think Prince had everything, talent, money, charisma, fame, success... but knowing how it all ended for him, I wouldn't trade places with him in a million years.

By all accounts, he seemed very unhappy and unfulfilled towards the end of his life and personal happiness and contentment is all I aspire to achieve out of life, so that envious part of me that used to think Prince had it all has now gone. I feel an immense amount of sadness for Prince, and how he gave his life over to the music, but never managed to cultivate a meaningful life away from that, with a partner or children of his own.

At the end of the day, it's people and the relationships we have that make us happy as we get older. I don't envy Prince being in his mid-fifties, alone at Paisley, without a life partner or children, writing music for the sake of writing music, surrounded by people on the payroll. It just doesn't sound like a life with a lot of joy in it. And that's not factoring in the other personal health problems he was contending with.

[Edited 4/23/18 12:19pm]

MattyJam said:

Yes, it has changed my view on how I perceive his life. I used to think Prince had everything, talent, money, charisma, fame, success... but knowing how it all ended for him, I wouldn't trade places with him in a million years.

By all accounts, he seemed very unhappy and unfulfilled towards the end of his life and personal happiness and contentment is all I aspire to achieve out of life, so that envious part of me that used to think Prince had it all has now gone. I feel an immense amount of sadness for Prince, and how he gave his life over to the music, but never managed to cultivate a meaningful life away from that, with a partner or children of his own.

At the end of the day, it's people and the relationships we have that make us happy as we get older. I don't envy Prince being in his mid-fifties, alone at Paisley, without a life partner or children, writing music for the sake of writing music, surrounded by people on the payroll. It just doesn't sound like a life with a lot of joy in it. And that's not factoring in the other personal health problems he was contending with.

[Edited 4/23/18 12:19pm]

This. The idea of Prince alone within the cavernous confines of Paisley Park, 56 years old and in great pain...fills me with such sadness.

Genesia said:

Nothing has changed, for me. I always knew Prince was a human being. A genius, yes - but ultimately, a person who had faults, failings, and frailties just like the rest of us.

For the worse. Not so much about his addiction, but how he dealt with it. Which is to say, it looks like he didn't.

Also, no will? Despite being so close to the end...

Before April 2016, I thought he was clean living, an unorthodox but possibly shrewd buisness man, and an eccentric that had what it took to get through life. Turns out, he wasn't. I forgive him his mess, and even what I perceive as his weakness, and while I know the party always had to end, it didn't have to turn into such a tragedy.

MattyJam said:

Nothing has changed , still as enigmatic as ever to me. As I've mentioned before, it seems he died as he had lived, in mystery.

[Edited 4/23/18 13:48pm]

jaawwnn said:

MattyJam said:

jaawwnn said:

I don't wish to be rude but did none of this ever occur to you when he was alive? We used to discuss it a fair bit. Were you in denial or did you just write it off as org haters gonna hate (or both)?

Honestly, it didn't really occur to me when he was alive, probably because he still had that facade of being an enigma. Since he's passed and we've come to learn things about his life that he would've hated for us to know, being Prince doesn't seem half as glamorous. Everything was so stage managed when he was alive. Now we've been allowed to take a peak behind the curtain, the reality of being Prince in 2016 seems so desperately sad.

I honestly think Jesse Johnson said it best...."Prince was an idea"...the implication being that the mirage we & the world fell in love with was just a character brought out for live gigs & TV shows...& I guess by that logic nothing like the real Mr. Nelson. By that logic I guess no different to any celeb we see performing?

PURPLEIZED3121 said:

MattyJam said:

Yes, it has changed my view on how I perceive his life. I used to think Prince had everything, talent, money, charisma, fame, success... but knowing how it all ended for him, I wouldn't trade places with him in a million years.

By all accounts, he seemed very unhappy and unfulfilled towards the end of his life and personal happiness and contentment is all I aspire to achieve out of life, so that envious part of me that used to think Prince had it all has now gone. I feel an immense amount of sadness for Prince, and how he gave his life over to the music, but never managed to cultivate a meaningful life away from that, with a partner or children of his own.

At the end of the day, it's people and the relationships we have that make us happy as we get older. I don't envy Prince being in his mid-fifties, alone at Paisley, without a life partner or children, writing music for the sake of writing music, surrounded by people on the payroll. It just doesn't sound like a life with a lot of joy in it. And that's not factoring in the other personal health problems he was contending with.

Wow - you're projecting an awful lot. Do you really feel these are the only fulfilling relationships to be had in life - and that anyone without them is doomed? It may sound like a life without much joy to you - but you don't really know what kind of life Prince had...now do you?

MattyJam said:

PURPLEIZED3121 said:

I honestly think Jesse Johnson said it best...."Prince was an idea"...the implication being that the mirage we & the world fell in love with was just a character brought out for live gigs & TV shows...& I guess by that logic nothing like the real Mr. Nelson. By that logic I guess no different to any celeb we see performing?

But I don't think there was enough of a distinction for Prince, between his private life and his life as Prince the performer. Just look at the heartbreaking way he handled the aftermath of losing his son back in 96. He blurred the lines to an unhealthy degree. We're talking about a guy who literally lived at his recording studio. He made music his entire life, and in doing so, he defined his entire existence by his artistry, which is all well and good, but it doesn't keep you warm at night or give you the basic human need for connection.

Maybe he wanted it to be that way?

-

I am more and more convinced he was autistic. He spent his life on his special interests and when he was doing music he delved into it so deeply he lost track of the world outside. For me personally (because I am autistic myself), committing myself to my special interests is emotionally important - it gives me room to escape from the world that I don't understand and that doesn't understand me and, what's worse, has treated me badly from time to time. Many people think I must be depressed and isolated. Actually, I'm usually happy on my own. That doesn't mean I want to be completely alone though. I really wish I had a spouse and children one day. But I also need to be alone every day for at least a couple of hours. There have been instances in my life when I had to be alone for a number of days straight. Which is possibly the reason why it's hard for me to find love - people assume I want to be alone. But when I manage to commit myself to someone finally they want to be around me at least 24/7, which is scary for me. And I think this was also Prince's case. He didn't know how to do relationships, especially how to do them to make everyone in it happy. He wanted to be left alone, but he also wanted someone close. He constructed his "mystical" place which was only "mystical" to allistic (non-autistic) people. In reality, it was his safe space where he could enjoy himself. He talked in ways that were considered "cryptic", but this was what was going through his head. Ultimately, this was a blessing. His unique vision and talent gave joy and hope to millions of people around the world. He will rest in power and his spirit will live among us

MattyJam said:

PURPLEIZED3121 said:

I honestly think Jesse Johnson said it best...."Prince was an idea"...the implication being that the mirage we & the world fell in love with was just a character brought out for live gigs & TV shows...& I guess by that logic nothing like the real Mr. Nelson. By that logic I guess no different to any celeb we see performing?

But I don't think there was enough of a distinction for Prince, between his private life and his life as Prince the performer. Just look at the heartbreaking way he handled the aftermath of losing his son back in 96. He blurred the lines to an unhealthy degree. We're talking about a guy who literally lived at his recording studio. He made music his entire life, and in doing so, he defined his entire existence by his artistry, which is all well and good, but it doesn't keep you warm at night or give you the basic human need for connection.

Very true. I now look at his work obesession [another addiction?] as a curse on him whilst a blessing for us. He seemed so worldly wise & so intelligent BUT when it came to emotional intelligence his way of dealing with it seemed denial/ distraction.

FullLipsDotNose said:

MattyJam said:

PURPLEIZED3121 said: But I don't think there was enough of a distinction for Prince, between his private life and his life as Prince the performer. Just look at the heartbreaking way he handled the aftermath of losing his son back in 96. He blurred the lines to an unhealthy degree. We're talking about a guy who literally lived at his recording studio. He made music his entire life, and in doing so, he defined his entire existence by his artistry, which is all well and good, but it doesn't keep you warm at night or give you the basic human need for connection.

Maybe he wanted it to be that way?

-

I am more and more convinced he was autistic. He spent his life on his special interests and when he was doing music he delved into it so deeply he lost track of the world outside. For me personally (because I am autistic myself), committing myself to my special interests is emotionally important - it gives me room to escape from the world that I don't understand and that doesn't understand me and, what's worse, has treated me badly from time to time. Many people think I must be depressed and isolated. Actually, I'm usually happy on my own. That doesn't mean I want to be completely alone though. I really wish I had a spouse and children one day. But I also need to be alone every day for at least a couple of hours. There have been instances in my life when I had to be alone for a number of days straight. Which is possibly the reason why it's hard for me to find love - people assume I want to be alone. But when I manage to commit myself to someone finally they want to be around me at least 24/7, which is scary for me. And I think this was also Prince's case. He didn't know how to do relationships, especially how to do them to make everyone in it happy. He wanted to be left alone, but he also wanted someone close. He constructed his "mystical" place which was only "mystical" to allistic (non-autistic) people. In reality, it was his safe space where he could enjoy himself. He talked in ways that were considered "cryptic", but this was what was going through his head. Ultimately, this was a blessing. His unique vision and talent gave joy and hope to millions of people around the world. He will rest in power and his spirit will live among us

Another great point...I can easily see how might / probably was somewhere on the spectrum.