Entertainment
These New Prince Rumors Are Devastating
On Thursday, Prince's publicist confirmed the devastating news that the "Purple Rain" singer has died in his home in Minnesota. The legendary singer's death came as a shock for many fans, especially as there's still no information as to what caused it. It was just earlier in April that TMZ reported that Prince's private plane had to make an emergency landing in order to rush Prince to the hospital, but it's not clear if that had anything to do with Thursday's tragic events. After all — mere hours later, Prince was reportedly "at home" and "fine" following what TMZ initially reported to be treatment for a bad case of the flu. Now, however, new reports from TMZ allege that Prince may have been hospitalized on April 15 for something else entirely. Specifically, the site is alleging that Prince was treated for a drug overdose just one week prior to his death, and should the allegations be true, it would make Prince's death all the more devastating. (Bustle reached out to Prince's reps in response to these reports, but have not yet heard back.)
According to TMZ, "multiple sources" speaking to the site from Moline, Illinois — the city in which Prince was rushed to the hospital — have alleged that Prince was treated for some type of drug overdose when he was brought in on April 15. According to these unconfirmed sources, Prince's team allegedly demanded that the singer receive a private hospital room, and left when these accommodations were not met. The news was also reported by Variety, which stated that the singer was found unresponsive in an elevator Thursday morning. He was pronounced dead shortly thereafter by first responders.
Right now, as The Telegraph points out, no official statement has been made by Prince's team, doctors, or law enforcement about the cause of his death, so any report is pure speculation until otherwise released. The only statement released, in fact, has been the following from Prince's publicist:
It is with profound sadness that I am confirming that the legendary, iconic performer, Prince Rogers Nelson, has died at his Paisley Park residence this morning at the age of 57.
There are no further details as to the cause of death at this time.
One thing is for sure: no matter what the cause of this singer's untimely death, he will certainly be missed by many.