There's hope - maybe.

Gay marriage and doing 'whatever you want' is wrong, says Prince

By PAUL WALSH, Star Tribune
November 17, 2008

Prince, the gender-bending Minnesota rocker who now lives in California and makes the rounds as a Jehovah's Witness, spoke out in a newly released interview that the Bible opposes homosexuality and God has said "enough."

The comments from the Grammy-winning musician, who for decades has graced concert stages in high heels, makeup and flamboyant garb, appear in the Nov. 24 issue of New Yorker.

"So here's how it is," Prince began, "You've got the Republicans, and basically they want to live according to this." He pointed to a Bible.

"But there's the problem of interpretation, and you've got some churches, some people, basically doing things and saying it comes from here, but it doesn't."

Prince then moved to the other side of the political aisle, Democrats, saying, "They're, like, 'You can do whatever you want.' Gay marriage, whatever. But neither of them is right."

When asked for his views on social issues--gay marriage and abortion--Prince tapped his Bible and said, "God came to earth and saw people sticking it wherever and doing it with whatever, and he just cleared it all out. He was, like, 'Enough.' "

Prince, who wrote sexually charged lyrics through much of his career, told the New Yorker that his change of faith came after a two-year debate with a musician friend. He likened it more to a "realization" rather than a "conversion."

He told the magazine that he attends meetings at a local Kingdom Hall, and he leaves his gated community in Los Angeles at times to knock on doors and proselytize. "Sometimes people act surprised, but mostly they're really cool about it," he said.

According to beliefnet.com, an independent website about the world's religions, the Jehovah's Witness faith that abortion is wrong, homosexuality is a "serious sin" and gender roles are defined: Men are the head of the household and women are loving caretakers who assist the husband in teaching the children.

The New Yorker piece was written by Claire Hoffman, a former entertainment writer for the Los Angeles Times. She also has written for the New York Times, Rolling Stone and Redbook.

One widely read celebrity gossip website, perezhilton.com, says that a Prince insider is challenging the article, saying that he was misquoted and the interviewer did not use a tape recorder.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482

© 2008 Star Tribune. All rights reserved.