Prince Wanted to Mentor Chris Brown

In 2014, Rolling Stone writer Brian Hiatt interviewed Prince at his Paisley Park estate for an intended cover story. The story ended up getting scrapped, but in the wake of the iconic musician’s death, it’s been brought back for the magazine’s latest cover. The interview is a revealing look at a guarded musician, but one conversation sticks out: Prince said he wanted to mentor Chris Brown, who he’d invited to meet at Paisley Park. When Hiatt pointed out that many people considered Brown “unforgivable” following his 2009 assault on then-girlfriend Rihanna, Prince replied: “Unforgivable? Goodness. That’s when we go check the master, Christ. … Have you ever instantly forgiven somebody?” When Hiatt shook his head, Prince said: “It’s the best feeling in the world, and it totally dismantles that person’s whole stance.” 

Later in the story, Prince avoided talking about Michael Jackson’s death, saying he was “too close to it.” He continued: “He is just one of many who have gone through that door—Amy Winehouse and folks. We’re all connected, right, we’re all brothers and sisters, and the minute we lock that in, we wouldn’t let anybody in our family fall. That’s why I called Chris Brown. All of us need to be able to reach out and just fix stuff. There’s nothing that’s unforgivable.” 

In the same interview, Prince also claimed to be celibate, and said he’d gone for long stretches without food. “The hunger turns into something else,” he said.

Read the full Rolling Stone feature here.

Find more on Prince and his legacy here.

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