As millions of fans around the world mourn Prince’s untimely passing, the cause of his death remains a mystery. Reported culprits include mistreatment, drug overdose and even murder.
The music legend, fashion idol and 80’s sex-symbol performed a 2-hour-long concert days earlier. Prince cancelled two other events this week after coming down with the flu but, at 57 years old, he had no serious health issues. As such, his death is a shocking turn of events, to say the least.
The Autopsy
Authorities told Sky News that an investigation is underway. An autopsy was conducted today, though “conclusive results are still pending”. These results will likely point to a hidden medical condition as the culprit.
Meanwhile, (to no one’s surprise) the Internet is already abuzz with wild theories, ranging from medical mistreatment to government conspiracies. Sure, Prince’s passing raises some legitimate questions. But you’d still probably be right to roll your eyes at most of them.
Here are a few of the most sane theories circulating the Twittersphere:
- The music idol converted to a denomination of Jehovah’s Witnesses where AIDS medication is strictly phorbidden.
Though this would explain how a simple flu could lead to a fatal outcome, Jehovah’s Witnesses don’t frown upon any type of medical treatment. Plus, Prince isn’t a fanatic of anything but great music and impeccable style.
- He couldn’t cope with his fading popularity and developed a prescription drug problem, which led to an overdose.
TMZ is reporting that the late pop legend has overdozed on oxycontin a week before his passing. Even if this turns out to be true, this theory is way too dramatic.
Prince’s following has hit an all-time low over the past decade. That being said, he was still one of the most recognizable artists alive. Millions of Americans are still die-hard fans and most of today’s pop stars list Prince as their top influence.
Also, Prince went through his drug phase a long time ago. - He was poisoned by producers to boost sales of his latest album, which didn’t sell enough copies.
The truth is, Prince’s 39th studio album, titled HITnRUN Phase One, was released exclusively on Tidal (Jay Z’s streaming service.) Despite being an unannounced ‘surprize’ release, millions of downloads were made within the first month. When the physical album finally hit U.S. record stores, over 16,000 were sold within the first week.
And FYI, Twitterverse, Prince has been self-produced for (literally) decades.
The Purple Warrior
With absolutely no exception, all of today’s living music legends paid tribute to Prince hours after the news was confirmed. However, it was Elton John who said it best.
Prince’s world tour flight took an emergency detour six days prior to his death because of severe ‘flu symptoms.’ As a result, he cancelled two of his three remaining appearances and was only supposed to play the keys during the third.
At that last performance, there wasn’t even a mic set up on stage. That is, until The Performer got word of fans being concerned about his health (due to the earlier emergency-landing.) So, to dispel the then-rumors of his frail health, the Purple Warrior sang numerous fan-favorite hits. Prince was absolutely exhausted by the end of it but he didn’t miss a beat.
Whatever his cause of death turns out to be, Prince Rogers Nelson will be remembered for the causes he lived for. His music, his style and his original, distinct image will live on forever.