Prince fined people for swearing at his home.
The late singer – who was found dead last Thursday (21.04.16) at the age of 57 – was a devoted Jehovoah’s Witness and wouldn’t stand for people cursing at his Paisley Park Studios estate in Minnesota.
A fellow member of the congregation at St. Louis Park, Jehovah’s Witness Kingdom Hall, James Lundstrom, said: "If you swore at Paisley Park, he would charge you between 10 and 3 dollars per swear word.
"And he wasn’t joking. You had to pay in cash in the bucket.
"In fact, one time I was carrying some luggage, and I bumped my knee and, as [a Jehovah’s Witness], we’re not supposed to swear – we say ‘We don’t swear at people, but we swear at things’ – and I said ‘Damn.’ He said, ‘What did you say?’ I said, ‘That’s spelled d-a-m.’ He was like, ‘Brother Jim, Brother Jim.’ "
Visitors to Prince’s home were aware of his rule and often came prepared.
James added: "One time he had a back-up singer come in from Los Angeles. She brought some money. Not a big name, but she’s a back-up singer for a whole lot of people, and she was there for a rehearsal, and she put money in the cuss bucket all the time.
"She was just throwing it and throwing it in the bucket.
"That morning – well, Prince’s morning, which is 4 o’clock in the afternoon, Minnesota time – it was so funny… She went to an ATM machine and came with a fistful of hundred dollar bills and everything and said, ‘Take this and put it in your cuss bucket! I’m paying in advance!’ "
The ‘Raspberry Beret’ singer – who converted to the Christian faith in 2003 – was "in good standing" with the church and would often go out door-to-door with members of the ministry.
Another member, Anna Barry, told People magazine:
"He [witnessed] in the beginning.
"He had a very special territory. He was able to talk to those who the rest of us would never be able to talk to – celebrities, for example."
And despite his famously wild and colourful sense of style, Prince would tone it down when he visited his "safe place", Kingdom Hall, in order to fit in.
Anna added: "He would just have a suit and tie. You wouldn’t have picked him out [from the rest of the congregation]…
"I think he wanted to be private, and my observation is: He had to have his creative outlet. Maybe he just needed it to survive."
Though a cause of death has not yet been revealed, it has been reported the ‘Little Red Corvette’ singer had been "addicted" to prescription pills, and Anna thinks if the speculation is true, he has been a "victim of a plague".
She said: "When the news comes out about how he died, if indeed it was an overdose, I would feel like he was a victim of a plague that’s affecting many levels of our society.
"If that was indeed it. I hope it isn’t. But I would see him as a victim as opposed to someone who made that choice."
Prince hated swearing
