In a recent write-up from GQ, close friends of Prince got pretty raw about his personality and even his relationships with Michael Jackson and Madonna.
On his rumored feud with Michael Jackson, his friends say:
Jill Jones: Prince had spoken to me about that whole Bad thing. We were in the car, driving around listening to Jimi Hendrix, and then we pulled off the side of the road, looking at the lake, and he started saying, “Michael contacted me to do this song.”
Bobby Z: I don’t know what Michael was thinking, but he just didn’t know the fierceness of Prince. I know that he didn’t want any part of that. You don’t come to Prince with a song like, “Who’s bad in this song—Prince or Michael?” It’s gonna be Prince. It’s not gonna be Michael. He loved Michael Jackson. He was just at a level now where he was competing. He was a fierce competitor—he wasn’t going to do anything that looked like they were buddies. He was gonna win. And he won with the movie. He won with Purple Rain.
They also revealed that Prince had a rather interesting relationship with Madonna:
Cat Glover: On the plane, he brought up Graffiti Bridge as something he wanted to make into a musical. He said, “It’s gonna be you and Madonna.” She was actually supposed to be the lead of the movie. [Glover describes how Madonna later flew to Minneapolis to discuss the project.] He said he was having a hard time with Madonna and would I come down? He couldn’t deal with her by himself, is what he told me over the phone. So I came down and Madonna and Prince started arguing over the script. She was funny. I liked her. They both started ragging on each other. Madonna said she didn’t like the script, and Prince said to Madonna, “Well, I don’t like your shoes.” That’s how it all started. I was sitting there going, “Oh my God, here we go.” So Madonna told Prince, “I don’t like your shoes, either. Look at ’em with those peace signs and zippers and shit all over ’em.” And Prince was saying, “What are you wearing? Are those shoes or boots?” ’Cause Madonna had on these cowboy-boot shoes. This is what happens when you get two big egos in one room. It was jokey and serious. They’re the same way.
Cat Glover: Prince’s cook wanted me to let him know that she had made dinner for them. I walked with them back through Paisley to the kitchen. Prince’s cook had candles all over the table—it was so pretty how she did everything. And Madonna says, “What, are we having a séance or something?” And I thought, that’s cold. I can’t remember what really happened after that. I just remember Madonna complaining a lot. She said it was too cold in Minneapolis and she was ready to go home. That night she was supposed to have a special party. It was all set up for her to have a party, and she just left. He wasn’t too happy about it. Because he did go out of his way to make her feel comfortable.
Other tidbits:
– The “Chappelle Show” skit about Prince was pretty accurate.
– Prince was a full supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement and he wanted black people to focus on ownership and building up their own communities. He wanted to see a black Mark Zuckerberg rise up before he passed away.
Check out the piece here. It’s a great read.
There will never be another.
Madonna will never be on Prince or Michael’s level to me. I always preferred Janet anyway.
After she gave that bullsh-t speech a couple days ago about the greats like David Bowie and Prince being dead and that she’s still alive, I’m officially done with her chipmunk looking a-s.