'He Was In Bad Shape' — Inside Prince's Struggle With Deadly AIDS
May 3 2016, Published 10:05 a.m. ET
Prince secretly struggled with AIDs. Click through RadarOnline.com's gallery to find out his secret prayer plan and what he wanted for his funeral.
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Prince died on April 21 of a reported drug overdose, but he was diagnosed with deadly AIDS six months ago, reported The National ENQUIRER.
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The singer, who had wasted away to 80 pounds at the time of his death, believed he could beat the disease with prayer.
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Surprisingly, the Jehovah's Witness shrugged off doctors who advised immediate treatment for the killer virus after the initial diagnosis, insiders said.
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"God can — and will — cure me," the cocky star told friends. While Prince, 57, managed to maintain appearances, a select few knew the end was near.
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A music industry source interviewed by The ENQUIRER messaged friends on April 19 to reveal Prince had full-blown AIDS. "He was in bad shape," the source revealed.
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"He was totally iron-deficient, very weak and often disoriented. He rarely ate and when he did, it all came right back up," said the source.
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According to the source, Prince contracted the virus in the 1990s, but was encouraged by members of his faith to ignore it and not take the medications prescribed for him.
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"They told Prince he'd have everlasting life, and believed he had been cured by faith," the source said.
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"But the symptoms returned, and it was too late for medication," said the insider. "Prince expected to live through the summer, but his immune system was very weak."
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The music legend hired two nurses to care for him around the clock, and he had begun planning his own funeral. Prince had just begun working on his memoirs the month before he died.
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He also discussed funeral plans with friends George Clinton of the band Parliament-Funkadelic and his Under the Cherry Moon co-star Jerome Benton, said the source.
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Prince told them he wanted the song "Sometime It Snows in April" played at his funeral, indicating he knew he'd die in April and in Minnesota, the source said.
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George and Jerome just laughed him off "because he looked to be in great shape," the source said.
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However, "His face was yellowish, the skin on his neck was hanging off, and the tips of his fingers were a brownish-yellow color," divulged the source.