Out of many public appearances over the last few weeks, three of those appearances have been linked to gay people.

01) The Tavis Smiley show with Wendy Melvoin;
02) Elton John's Annual Post-Oscars AIDS fundraising party;
03) The Ellen Show.

Do you think that these were all conscious decisions to let his gay fans know that his religious beliefs aren't as stringent as we had previously believed? Is it just coincidence?

Coincidence, I'm sure.

He's just going to the hot venues... imo.

I thought his post was going to be about his hand gestures on the Leno show. Very effeminate. I don't know about reconnecting with his gay audience. I think he's trying to reconnect with a lot of old fans and get some new ones along the way at the moment.

JimmyNothing said:

What?

BinaryJustin said:

Everybody is gay these days - it is a likely coincidence

NPGLOVER said:

proof, s'ilvous plait.

June7 said:

I always thought Wendy was a hot venue

NPGLOVER said:

Yeh, I have been rather extra happy these days (U know, with the tour and all)

Nah, I just think that some people he deals with just happen to be gay, that's all.

I don't think it's coincidence. Prince had stated that he would never perform with Wendy & Lisa unless they "renounced their lifestyle" and made a public apology. (For being themselves? WTF?) So it was a big deal when he showed up on that show with Wendy. And for him to go from his former stance to appearing on a show with an openly lesbian host is pretty significant. It's my hope that he is falling out of his lockstep with the JW's and following his own moral compass.

Prince has always acknowledged the fluidity of sexuality in his lyrics and his lifestyle, and that naturally appealed to many queer fans. His association to the JW church (with a homophobic doctrine more severe than most Christian denominations) and Larry Graham, especially after Graham's offensive "Adam and Steve" comments at a Rainbow Children listening party, left many gay fans feeling like they didn't recognize their favorite artist anymore. But whether he's had sincere change of heart or is just looking at the bottom line, it seems clear he is trying to reconnect with a significant portion of his fan base that he alienated.

freakebear said:

Larry Grahm made "adam & steve" comments at the listening party?? details please.

freakebear said:

Many of the above statements are unfounded. I've never seen proof of Prince asking for a public apology from Wendy & Lisa and asking them to denounce their "lifestyle". I seriously doubt that a mature, respectful person like Larry Graham made an Adam & Steve comment. That sounds retarded. And finally the anti-JW site that you provided a link for is ridiculous. Anyone can quote from those sites and call it truth. I'm not feelin' it .
I agree with Anxiety that some of the people Prince deals with just happen to be gay, and that's all. People are reading into things way too deeply and coming to erroneous conclusions.

OdysseyMiles said:

Wasn't it another member of the Revolution who said that Prince made the denouncement of Wendy & Lisa's "lifestyle"? I think that somebody was interviewed for a book but I can't remember whom. It might not have been an ex band-member - it may have been David Z or somebody like that.

BinaryJustin said:

And what about the upcoming special 'Queer Eye For The Paisley Guy'? And the cancelled 'The Chocolate Starfish Invasion' CD set, and the upcoming Musicology CD with songs like, 'Lube 4 U', 'Rear Entry' and 'Homo Pony'?

A short while ago, I was going to start a joke thread saying that after his jazz phase, he's now entering a lesbian phase, but I thought it mightn't go down too well.

Seriously, though, I just think it's a co-incidence.

Mind you, what with that duet with RuPaul coming up...

I don't Think Prince EVER was ANTI-GAY. Yes trying to show he Isn't Homophobic ,yes. Also , many people in the Entertainment world are Gay.AIDs is also a HETEROSEXUAL DISEASE. I think Prince is just doing PR and I don't Think he is CONSCIOUSLY picking out Gay People in Particular. But he is Definitely Not Hating . I cannot Believe Larry Graham ever said this cause What does That Comment have to do with Music? To Alienate yourself from a LARGE GROUP of PEOPLE is INSANE ya Know especially in ENTERTAINMENT would be like CUTTINg ya ONE THROAT. LOOK at DONNA SUMMER? I find HATE of ANYTHING ;Particularlly WRONG!

I forgot to Mention something bout AIDS . Don't they Say in the Statistics that it is Rampant growing in AFRICAN AMERICANS Right so I think PRINCe being very into his Black Culture is doing this also as partof Awareness and Black Power Respect kinda thing .

I didn't quote from any site and call it truth. I provided a link where you could read about gay folks who were persecuted by JW. Feel free to feel it or not and be as informed or as ignorant as you like.

Yes, it was reported in this book.

As for Graham's homophobic comments, I didn't pull that story out of my ass. He made them at a preview party for The Rainbow Children and I read several accounts online from fans who were there (one may have been in the NPGMC forums). I'm sure I'm other folks on here read about it. A fan asked (paraphrasing from memory) whether the religious message of the album might not make gay fans feel excluded. Larry and Tina chuckled at that and Larry said something about how God made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve.

JimmyNothing said:

Exactly my thoughts, he is just trying to promote his new tour and album the best he can.

well i have to say that recently this crossed my mind: 'what would i do when i found out that Prince was anti-gay'. I never had that with him before, and i am glad that it seems that i don't have to think about it anymore.

Dang, if I wasn't banned from NPGMC messageboard - I'd go ask over there.

---

BinaryJustin said:

Why do gay people always think that everything is always about them? Lawd have mercy.....

BinaryJustin said:

Yeah, according to Possessed, it was a former band member - I THINK it intimated that it was Brown Mark for some reason (?) but that might just be my drug-addled mind. Now maybe the former band member's lying, who knows?

I read a couple of posts on some message board/ online Prince community around the time of TRC celebration and I most definitely remember a couple of people mentioning that Larry Graham actually said the whole redneck "Adam and Steve" schtick. Now, they might have been lying, who knows? Hey, I could be lying, who knows?

There have been quite a few very questionable lyrics (in my eyes) during the last few "JW Years" -- but many people don't see what I'm reading into them, and Prince never discusses anything like normal people do, so there's no way to ever know what he meant when he said "Every seed fruit to bear" right after referencing HIV on The War (which, aside from that, over the last few months, I've come to realize is one of Prince true masterpieces). Similarly, my absolute LOVE for Muse 2 The Pharaoh is....well, it feels wrong and dirty, because of the Holocaust line. Combined with the lyrics to Family Name, I just....wow, I just can't listen to those songs very often as a result.

On the other hand, as an HIV+ gay man, I find 2045:Radical Man to be a brilliant musical rallying cry for AIDS research and the plight of the millions of AIDS-affected people in the word. (not to mention a FONKY-ass song, I mean that's the experimental Prince that I truly love)

In the maaaaatter of a blinking eye...testify...take a stand...radical man, BOOM.

Hells, YEAH, Prince. It's all about the DNA, necca. We plantin' flags in the funk...you betta act like you know.

2045, war is on outside
2045, we will stay alive

I mean DAMN that song gives so much damn positivity to my positivity.....and hell, for that matter, Sometimes It Snows In April was the first time I heard of a man crying over another man...and that was PROFOUND when I was 11 years old. Prince had a major influence on my sexuality, there's no doubt about that. I had the Controversy g-string in the shower poster at the head of my bed in high school, [i]ahem.[/] AND THIS WAS IN 1993!!!!

What I'm saying is...it hurt when I heard these different allegations and reports...and let's face it, JW doctrine is extremely homophobic and in my opinion hateful towards gays...in the worst kind of "we're doing the right thing because we're the chosen people" way. They're like Roman Catholics if Roman Catholics actually enforced their doctrine in terms of homosexuality...but they're all perv'd up sex-starved fags who are doomed to spending the rest of their lives lusting after boys, much like the tragic plight of the King of Pop and his Jesus juice shenanigans...hey, I'm a (former? non-practicing, definitely) Catholic, so I can talk about this shit, all right?

To FINAFUCKINLY get to the point of this post, I don't know if the fact that he hooked up with Wendy (who since leaving 18 or whatever years ago has really come out and been a fairly vocal lesbian...I don't mean that stupid like it sounds, but she hasn't been afraid to acknowledge and talk about it) is a coincidence or a planned public relations strategy or both, but I do know that it makes me EXTREMELY happy.

But I'm a nerdy faggot like that, so.



Ain't that a cute motherfucking Penguin? Got-DAMN.

BlackandRising said:

Yeah we know, your plight is SOO much worse than ours, you win. Didja learn that from the 2 songs off TRC I just referenced?

Oh, and your screen name has always struck me as very silly and to be honest has always made me assume you were either Gary Coleman small or more likely a white suburban kid with too much of his mom and dad's money and lots of time on his hands.

Just sayin' is all. I sure wouldn't wanna go around callin' myself QueerAndRising and then go on some race thread and say "You black people always think everything's about you, and now I want to poop on your discussion. Plop, Plop!"

That would make me feel small and bitter and sad.

theblueangel said:

LMAO I knew I'd get a reply like this. Although, I thought it would be a little more creative. It was just a test. Stop crying.

Haystack said:

freakebear said:

Larry styled his friggin' moustache after Adam and Steve.

Its called "promoting."

BlackandRising said:

Why do you think that "gay people think that everything is always about them"?

The truth is, that Prince courted curiosity and interest from gay men during the peak of his career. As such, he has a large gay following - you only have to look at the Org membership to see that... You wouldn't get this mix of people in a Lenny Kravitz or Dr. Dre forum.

thebleangel speaks for a lot of gay people when he says that many of us became disillusioned by his lyrics, choice of religion and the various reports of negativity in later years.

It would equally have been odd if Prince associated himself with three prominent members of The Nation Of Islam over the last few weeks. Wouldn't we be talking about that, if that were the case?

NPGLOVER is obviously wrong is saying that "everybody is gay these days". I think you'll find that the ratio has always remained the same - its not an epidemic! There are evidently more people whom feel comfortable with openly classifying themselves as non-heterosexual these days, but that doesn't mean that there are more "gay people".

The fact is, that he could have chose any of his ex-guitarists to join him on the Tavis Smiley show - but he chose Wendy. He could have chose the Oprah show instead of Ellen. He could have just gone home after the Oscars but he was at Elton John's party. I do think its significant.