Prince — born on June 7, 1958, as Prince Rogers Nelson — was found dead at his Minnesota mansion on Thursday, April 21. The beloved rock star was only 57 years old, and had been hospitalized just a week before after his plane made an emergency landing in Illinois. At the time, representatives insisted that Prince had only been suffering from a lingering flu. That was typical of the privacy demanded by the rock star — but The National ENQUIRER had already learned plenty of the star’s most intimate secrets! Prince shot to stardom with 1984’s “Purple Rain,” with the soundtrack for the the surprise hit film also becoming a #1 album. The title track even won Prince the Oscar for Best Original Song.
That was also the time when former bodyguard Chick Huntsberry gave The ENQUIRER an exclusive look into the rock star’s secret world. “Prince is certainly the weirdest guy I’ve ever met,” said the hulking ex-wrestler. “And it’s not put on for publicity — he really is weird!” Huntsberry revealed how he spent four years clearing out restaurants and bathrooms for the rock star — in addition to beating up fans who came too close, and rushing to console Prince when terror gripped him in the middle of the night over celebrity stalkers. “It’s heartbreaking,” said Huntsberry. “Prince is the hottest name in show business, yet he’s terrified he’s going to be killed…”
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Photo credit: Corbis
Prince Secrets Scandals 4
"Recently," revealed Huntsberry, "Prince told me, 'I've always wanted to be really famous — but now, like Elvis, I'm a prisoner. My life's dream has turned into a nightmare.' Prince is so paranoid that it's unbelievable. Even though he has bodyguards at his house, one night he called me from there and said in a frightened whisper: 'Chick, I hear noises, come over right away. There are 10 people outside my window.' I went racing over, and found two girls sitting in a car outside!"
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Photo credit: Corbis
©2002 RAMEY PHOTO AGENCYPRINCE ON THE PURPLE RAIN TOUR IN THE EARLY 1980’S.
The rock star had real reason to be fearful, though. Huntsberry revealed that Prince had become the target of numerous death threats in the wake of "Purple Rain" becoming a hit album and film. "We've received photos of Prince's Minneapolis home in the mail, with notes that read, 'We know where Prince lives and we're going to get him,'" said Huntsberry. The rocker was even targeted by an unnamed terrorist group that threatened to assassinate him during a Los Angeles concert.
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Photo credit: Corbis
The Artist Formerly Known as Prince
"The letters object to Prince's mention of God in his songs, and some letters are filled with racist rantings," revealed Huntsberry. "The biggest complaint is that Prince dates white women." Prince's fame, however, began to recede at the start of the '90s. He had plenty of adoring fans, but Prince fell away from the spotlight when he became frustrated with the music industry in 1993. He changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol, and flooded the market with five albums between 1994 and 1996 just to get out of a recording contract.
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Photo credit: Corbis
Singer Prince
He returned to using the name Prince in 2000, and appeared to be in better mental health in what sadly became his final years. The ENQUIRER, however, discovered his inner circle still worried about his physical well-being. A report in 2009 caught the fragile star looking exceptionally emaciated while in Paris that October. "He's living in pain and not eating much," said an insider. "He looks awful, and some of the people around him are seriously worried."
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Photo credit: Corbis
PRINCE IN CONCERT AT WEMBLEY
Medical experts consulted by The ENQUIRER estimated that Prince, who was only 5'3", didn't weigh more than a troubling 110 pounds. Sources also claimed that years of onstage acrobatics and dancing in stilettos had left Prince struggling with joint problems. But the star had dismissed having surgery because his faith doesn't allow medical procedures that may need blood transfusions.
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Photo credit: Corbis
Prince in Concert
In later years, Prince — like his contemporary
Michael Jackson — had embraced his faith as a devout Jehovah's Witness. The ENQUIRER was even there when the rocker got the cold shoulder when he tried to save the souls of a flock of sexy go-go girls! It was a very different Prince who took offense to the scantily clad dancers at the floating Hollywood party Xenii in 2006.
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Photo credit: Corbis
Prince in Concert
"Prince actually tried to get the girls to stop dancing and go home," an eyewitness told The ENQUIRER. "He preached that they were too good for that kind of entertainment, and said: 'What would your parents think about you selling yourselves so cheap?'" The source said that the girls politely shrugged off the rocker — and didn't even seem to recognize him! Added the partygoer: "He made sure to say 'God bless you' to each of the girls before he left!"
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Photo credit: Getty Images
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His renewed faith also seemed to make Prince more comfortable with his fervent fans. In a 2008 interview in The New Yorker, he described confronting a young woman who'd wander onto the grounds of his Paisley Park complex and sit for hours on a swing set.
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Photo credit: Corbis
Prince on Stage in San Francisco
"I went out there one day," recalled Prince, "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."
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Photo credit: Corbis
Prince in Concert
But fans were confused when Prince's faith also seemed to have him speaking out against homosexuality. The star who'd cashed in on his androgyny baffled music lovers in an interview where he was asked to comment on social issues including gay rights and abortion. Prince reportedly held up a Bible and declared: “God came to Earth and saw people … doing it with whatever and … He was, like, ‘Enough!’”
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Photo credit: Getty Images
Prince At The SCG Show In Sydney
The backlash was serious enough for Prince to send out an anonymous spokesman to insist the rocker was misquoted. "What His Purpleness actually did," said the rep, "was gesture to the Bible and said he follows what it teaches."
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Photo credit: Corbis
© Copyright 2015 Corbis Corporation
That left Prince one final bizarre scandal in what became his final days. Fellow '80s music icon
Boy George caused an uproar last year while serving as a judge on the UK version of "The Voice" — after he declared
that he and Prince were ex-lovers! It began when pop star Paloma Faith bragged: "I’ve performed with Prince.” Boy George replied: “Forget that, darling. I’ve slept with Prince!” The singer for Culture Club later insisted he had only been joking.
Prince Secrets Scandals 4
"Recently," revealed Huntsberry, "Prince told me, 'I've always wanted to be really famous — but now, like Elvis, I'm a prisoner. My life's dream has turned into a nightmare.' Prince is so paranoid that it's unbelievable. Even though he has bodyguards at his house, one night he called me from there and said in a frightened whisper: 'Chick, I hear noises, come over right away. There are 10 people outside my window.' I went racing over, and found two girls sitting in a car outside!"
©2002 RAMEY PHOTO AGENCYPRINCE ON THE PURPLE RAIN TOUR IN THE EARLY 1980’S.
The rock star had real reason to be fearful, though. Huntsberry revealed that Prince had become the target of numerous death threats in the wake of "Purple Rain" becoming a hit album and film. "We've received photos of Prince's Minneapolis home in the mail, with notes that read, 'We know where Prince lives and we're going to get him,'" said Huntsberry. The rocker was even targeted by an unnamed terrorist group that threatened to assassinate him during a Los Angeles concert.
The Artist Formerly Known as Prince
"The letters object to Prince's mention of God in his songs, and some letters are filled with racist rantings," revealed Huntsberry. "The biggest complaint is that Prince dates white women." Prince's fame, however, began to recede at the start of the '90s. He had plenty of adoring fans, but Prince fell away from the spotlight when he became frustrated with the music industry in 1993. He changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol, and flooded the market with five albums between 1994 and 1996 just to get out of a recording contract.
Singer Prince
He returned to using the name Prince in 2000, and appeared to be in better mental health in what sadly became his final years. The ENQUIRER, however, discovered his inner circle still worried about his physical well-being. A report in 2009 caught the fragile star looking exceptionally emaciated while in Paris that October. "He's living in pain and not eating much," said an insider. "He looks awful, and some of the people around him are seriously worried."
PRINCE IN CONCERT AT WEMBLEY
Medical experts consulted by The ENQUIRER estimated that Prince, who was only 5'3", didn't weigh more than a troubling 110 pounds. Sources also claimed that years of onstage acrobatics and dancing in stilettos had left Prince struggling with joint problems. But the star had dismissed having surgery because his faith doesn't allow medical procedures that may need blood transfusions.
Prince in Concert
In later years, Prince — like his contemporary
Michael Jackson — had embraced his faith as a devout Jehovah's Witness. The ENQUIRER was even there when the rocker got the cold shoulder when he tried to save the souls of a flock of sexy go-go girls! It was a very different Prince who took offense to the scantily clad dancers at the floating Hollywood party Xenii in 2006.
Prince in Concert
"Prince actually tried to get the girls to stop dancing and go home," an eyewitness told The ENQUIRER. "He preached that they were too good for that kind of entertainment, and said: 'What would your parents think about you selling yourselves so cheap?'" The source said that the girls politely shrugged off the rocker — and didn't even seem to recognize him! Added the partygoer: "He made sure to say 'God bless you' to each of the girls before he left!"
Prince Secrets Scandals 11
His renewed faith also seemed to make Prince more comfortable with his fervent fans. In a 2008 interview in The New Yorker, he described confronting a young woman who'd wander onto the grounds of his Paisley Park complex and sit for hours on a swing set.
Photo credit: Getty Images
Prince on Stage in San Francisco
"I went out there one day," recalled Prince, "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."
Prince in Concert
But fans were confused when Prince's faith also seemed to have him speaking out against homosexuality. The star who'd cashed in on his androgyny baffled music lovers in an interview where he was asked to comment on social issues including gay rights and abortion. Prince reportedly held up a Bible and declared: “God came to Earth and saw people … doing it with whatever and … He was, like, ‘Enough!’”
Prince At The SCG Show In Sydney
The backlash was serious enough for Prince to send out an anonymous spokesman to insist the rocker was misquoted. "What His Purpleness actually did," said the rep, "was gesture to the Bible and said he follows what it teaches."
Photo credit: Getty Images
© Copyright 2015 Corbis Corporation
That left Prince one final bizarre scandal in what became his final days. Fellow '80s music icon
Boy George caused an uproar last year while serving as a judge on the UK version of "The Voice" — after he declared
that he and Prince were ex-lovers! It began when pop star Paloma Faith bragged: "I’ve performed with Prince.” Boy George replied: “Forget that, darling. I’ve slept with Prince!” The singer for Culture Club later insisted he had only been joking.
