Prince's sudden death on April 21, 2016, shocked his fans — but the many tributes also covered up Prince's controversial side. The wild rocker didn't let his faith as a Jehovah's Witness keep him from becoming legendary as a sex-crazed rock star!
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Prince worked hard to maintain his privacy, but some of his old lovers have still spoken out about the secrets of his purple bedroom! That included ex-girlfriend Charlene Friend (pictured), who later sued His Purpleness for defamation and emotional distress.
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Charlene, who was only 18 when she met Prince, filed court papers in 2003 detailing the sexual obsessions of the 5'2" star. "Prince informed me he took sexual relations very seriously," she said in the court papers filed in Santa Monica, Calif. "He believed he was the Messiah and if you had sex with him, you became one with him."
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"He would have me dress in his clothing at his whim," added Charlene. "His staff were not allowed to look at me and I was not allowed to look at them."
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Charlene's court documents also revealed Prince's passion for group sex and voyeurism! "Prince would have bizarre sex parties where he had different theme rooms," she said. "He kept people in rooms at his homes and would have different acts in each room. He had cages, chains, whips in these rooms. Sometimes he would watch and sometimes he would participate."
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"Prince would also make me watch videos of him with other women," said Charlene. "This would make me very upset. I was also filmed having sex with Prince without my permission."
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Prince's representatives claimed Charlene's allegations were "totally false," including claims that "Prince threatened to have me killed after we broke up, saying no one else could have me." The star won the court case, with his lawyers calling it a "spiteful lawsuit." But former protege Sheila E. revealed that she also had to deal with Prince's "harem" during the percussionist's own long relationship with Prince.
“I tried to ignore the sadness I felt about not being the only woman in his life, but I learned to deal with it early on,” Sheila wrote in her 2014 autobiography — which revealed that Prince even proposed to her on stage in 1987 during a performance of "Purple Rain." “His songs were getting too dirty for my tastes,” she wrote. “It just wasn’t fun to be around.”
Sheila also made her own claims about Prince's controlling behavior, writing that he once refused to let her leave a tour to fly home for her grandmother’s funeral. “He was my boss, he reminded me," said Sheila. "He signed the paychecks."
"Baywatch" star Carmen Electra (pictured) dated Prince early in her career, and revealed more of the star's controlling ways — saying that his plans to propose to her ended after she told him that she wanted a career. "Prince asked me if I wanted to work or be a housewife," Carmen recalled. "I said I want to work."
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Prince — who was already a megastar while dating Carmen — became even less supportive after Carmen decided to move from Minnesota to Los Angeles. "I gave up everything with him to live here and make my own career," she recalled. "It was a hard time. I ended up calling him, and he hired me to dance at his club in LA. I made $90 a week. I wasn’t his girlfriend anymore, but I was one of his girls."
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Prince’s ex-wife, Mayte Garcia (pictured), even said that being married to Prince was the most "bizarre thing ever." She was only 16 years old when Prince first discovered her on a tape that Mayte's mother had sent the star — with Mayte insisting that Prince never came on to her until she was 18.
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But Mayte also revealed that Prince had kept a close eye on her as she worked as a backup dancer for his band — and he was her first lover. “I’d always been a very focused dancer and very protected," said Mayte. "Prince was my first crush, and my first love...I remember our first kiss, and thinking, 'Oh God, this is not happening!'"
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Tragically, Mayte and Prince were divorced after the death of their one-week old son was followed by a miscarriage. Prince's ex revealed that her husband even made them appear on "Oprah" shortly after the death of their son, with them both pretending that their infant was still alive!
“We had to show people that we were strong," said Mayte. "that we had faith, and that we would try again. But I didn’t really want to speak to anybody. I was physically distraught. When you miscarry your body is freaking out, like ‘Why can’t I feed the baby?’ so those were the things I went through."
Mayte still remembers Prince as "a great guy," though — but she doesn't hide the stranger aspects of their time together. "I think I’m now screwed for life," she said, "because my first relationship was the most bizarre relationship ever, and I’m not normal any more...I guess I am kind of screwed up now.”
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