Sinéad O’Connor Claims Prince "Terrorized" Her in New Interview
The singer details a wild and violent altercation with Prince in the late artist's LA mansion.
Over the years, Sinéad O’Connor has consistently hinted at a tumultuous relationship with Prince. But in her latest interview, the singer alleges at least one exchange went to a dark place.
Speaking with the New York Times, O'Connor recalls a night at the late artist's LA mansion. According to the singer, she was invited over by Prince himself, but alleges to have been "terrorized" by the Purple Rain icon upon arrival. O'Connor goes on to detail how Prince berrated her for cursing in interviews, insisted his butler feed her soup despite having repeatedly turned it down, and proposed a seemingly innocent pillow fight, but ended up hitting her with a case that was stuffed with something hard. And apparerntly it didn't end there. When she attempted to escape on foot, O'Connor claims she was stalked by the artist, first in his car and then on foot, before being chased around the highway. "You’ve got to be crazy to be a musician, but there’s a difference between being crazy and being a violent abuser of women," O'Connor added.
This is far from the first time O'Connor has discussed this particular episode with Prince, whose 1985 song "Nothing Compares 2 U" became a breakout hit for the singer in 1991. The earliest mention of it came all the way back in 2007. "He invited me to his house in Los Angeles and started to give out to me for swearing in interviews," O'Connor told The London Mirror. "When I told him to go [fuck] himself he got very upset and became quite threatening, physically. I ended up having to escape," O'Connor notes. When the interviewer commented on Prince's unintimidating build, O'Connor claimed "He can pack a punch. A few blows were exchanged. All I could do was spit. I spat on him quite a bit."
The whole account will presumably be featured in her upcoming memoir, Rememberings, which is out on June 1st. Pre-order your copy today.