Prince Reveals He Had Epilepsy, Believes Conspiracy Theories
- Posted on Apr 29th 2009 11:00AM by John D. Luerssen
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Prince has offered up a couple of personal revelations in a rare new television interview. Appearing on 'The Tavis Smiley Show' to promote his recent three-disc album 'Lotusflow3r', Prince disclosed his childhood struggle with epilepsy, his determination to thrive on the piano at a young age and his endorsement of some unusual conspiracy theories."I've never spoken about this before, but I was born epileptic and I used to have seizures when I was young," he told the PBS talk-show host. "And my mother and father didn't know what to do or how to handle it, but they did the best they could with what little they had. One day I walked in to her and said, 'Mom, I'm not going to be sick anymore,' and she said, 'Why?', and I said, 'Because an angel told me so.'"
Although he became cured of the epilepsy, he was still bullied as a youth which made him recoil. "I went into [my]self and I taught myself music," he explained. "My father left his piano at the house when he left, and I wasn't allowed to play it when he was there because I wasn't as good as him. So when he left I was determined to get as good as him, and I taught myself how to play music."
Prince Pictures
Photo from '21 Nights' by Prince and Randee St. Nicholas
Randee St. Nicholas
Photo from '21 Nights' by Prince and Randee St. Nicholas
Randee St. Nicholas
Photo from '21 Nights' by Prince and Randee St. Nicholas
Randee St. Nicholas
Photo from '21 Nights' by Prince and Randee St. Nicholas
Randee St. Nicholas
Photo from '21 Nights' by Prince and Randee St. Nicholas
Randee St. Nicholas
Photo from '21 Nights' by Prince and Randee St. Nicholas
Randee St. Nicholas
'21 Nights' by Prince and Randee St. Nicholas is in stores September 30.
Simon & Schuster
Prince also spoke of how one of his new songs, 'Dreamer,' was dedicated to controversial civil-rights activist and comedian Dick Gregory. "Dick Gregory really moved me and a lot of my friends," Prince said. "I show [his recordings] to everybody who comes over the house, especially white folks, because they need to hear that, so that they know more about all of us. Because what he said affects all of us."
Prince upholds Gregory's opinion on 'chem trails', which claims condensation trails left by passing airplanes are not water vapor but evidence of chemical sprays used by evil forces to disrupt and manipulate society. "When I was a kid, I used to see these trails in the sky all the time and I'd say, 'Oh, that's cool -- a jet just went over,'" Prince told Smiley. "And then you started to see a whole bunch of them and the next you know, everybody in your neighborhood was fighting and arguing and you didn't know why."
Then there's Gregory's belief that George Washington was not the first American president, based on the argument that the role of "president of the Continental Congress" was a mostly ceremonial role with little executive power in the 14 years leading up to the ratification of the U.S. constitution. Prince told Smiley, "When I found out there were eight presidents before George Washington, I wanted to smack somebody. I wanted to know why I was taught [that Washington was first]," he said. "Just tell me the whole story -- I'll fill in the blanks. But don't tell me something that you think I'm supposed to know."
- Filed under: News, Holy Hell, Television




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