From The Archives: Sinead O'Connor On Her Turbulent Incident With Prince

Sinead O'Connor speaks to Hot Press about a disturbing night at Prince's Minnesotan home. We pick up half-way through the interview, when the Dubliner discusses what happened that evening at the late singer's home.

In what sense? I always liked Prince, from what I saw?

I always liked him too until he threatened me with physical violence. He was the person I had a problem with because I curse a lot. He found this offensive. I went to see him recently and it turned into a huge argument because I went to leave his house and he had a limousine driver who sits there all night waiting to bring somebody home. I normally don't like limousines, but at 5.30 in the morning I don't really give a shit. But I went out and the guy was asleep and I said I didn't want to wake him up. He for some reason took this as meaning that I had a problem with the fact that the guy was there and we ended up having a huge argument in his house. He sent the guy off, he started roaring and screaming at me, I was sitting there roaring crying because I was completely frightened and I didn't know what was going on and I asked him for a number for a taxi and he wouldn't give me the number to get one, he said I had got myself into this and I could get myself out. He said he didn't know his address, so I couldn't even call Ciara to come and pick me up and then he started laughing at the fact that I was crying, saying that my big mouth had got me into trouble again. I ended up having to run away from his house because I was frightened of him. I went to leave his house, and he had these huge gates that wouldn't open and I couldn't get out. He ordered me to get into his car, and I sat in the back seat and he ordered me to get into the front seat. I thought I'm not driving anywhere with this person because I don't know what's going to happen. I ended up running away from the guy's house. What I object to is that if he had an argument with me that's fine, but I don't see why he had to threaten me with physical violence and use the fact that he is a man to intimidate me and be quite amused at the fact that I was frightened. I was sitting there crying my eyes out, because I didn't know what the fuck was going on. I think it would be fair to say that I dislike Prince profoundly. In fact he told me that he wished I'd never done his song. Because I was supposedly so "aggressive" and because I curse and because of the problem with limousines.
Men are so full of shit. You'd think he'd be different - he comes across as having maybe a kind of male/female sensibility.....
This is why I was annoyed because I went out with him once and I spoke to a friend of mine and word got back to him somehow that I'd said that I couldn't understand why he was lecturing me and giving out to me about the National Anthem thing, how I should be careful not to get bad press and how I shouldn't curse so much. I had called him a wanker for that and it got back to him and that's why this happened. It seemed to be alright for him to tell me how to run my life, but he said he was annoyed at me that night because I was trying to tell him how to run his. I think he has a problem because I said something disrespectful about him. But then I started hanging around with him again, and I actually began to think -this guy isn't so bad at all. (To Ciara: 'Didn't I genuinely feel bad that I had been negative about him?')
I was trying to think of things from his point of view. The guy can't go to the supermarket, he's Prince, he can't live a normal life, I shouldn't be such a bitch. I think he should be able to sit down and discuss any argument he has with me, but he threatened me with physical violence, he continually said that he was going to beat the shit out of me. And I fully believed that he was going to. I have a huge problem with
Prince.
I have a problem with anyone who threatens a woman with....physical violence. Who intimidates a woman and gets delight out of it. His problem was that I did a song , of his without him being involved in it. He's jealous. And he did say to me that he wished I'd never done his song, so fine. I'll never do it again. I think frankly that that song saved his fucking ass. He was in serious financial trouble until that song happened.

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