As more details have emerged about Prince‘s death in late April, the mystery that engulfed his life has only deepened. But one thing is becoming clear: The funk-rock genius was struggling with a painful secret. Overwhelming evidence indicates that Prince was in the grips of an addiction to painkillers during the last years of his life.
To the world outside Paisley Park, Prince seemed vibrant and in control to the end. At one of his last shows, in Toronto on March 25th, he was typically animated: “Bouncing around the stage, clapping with his audience, running around the piano,” says the venue’s CEO, Mark Hammond. “He was having fun.”
But offstage, it was a different story. It remains unclear when Prince began taking opioids and how much his inner circle knew of any possible addiction – though Prince’s late half-brother Duane told his lawyer that Prince was addicted to cocaine and Percocet in the early 2000s, according to the attorney. Others close to Prince have suggested that his drug use may have been in response to a serious hip problem that he developed later in life.
