Source: Gilbert Flores / Getty
Prince‘s annual Celebration happens next weekend at Paisley Park, but it doesn’t appear that Sheila E. will be there. The veteran singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist headed to Paisley Park last weekend to try and celebrate Prince’s 66th birthday.
But she says she was turned away from Paisley when she asked to do a social media post from one of Prince’s studios in the entertainment complex.
“I went in to celebrate him, and I wanted to go into the studio and do a live video, take a picture, and they said, ‘No.’ That part. My heart’s broke,” Sheila posted from the parking lot of the complex. “I can’t even walk into Paisley. It’s kind of messed up.”
Sheila was in Minneapolis to perform with Morris Day and the Time and said she was moved to go to the place where she and Prince collaborated, though her biggest hits with him, including “Erotic City” and “The Glamorous Life,” were recorded at another studio.
While folks like Sharon Stone, Queen Latifah, and Luenell weighed in in support of Sheila in the comments, others suggested that it was Sheila who was in the wrong, showing up unannounced and expecting to be treated like…well, royalty.
While Sheila was at Paisley Park to mourn shortly after his death was announced and has played a role in several tributes to her former collaborator and onetime lover, it is unknown if they were on good terms before his death on April 21, 2016.
DJ Quik posted, saying that Sheila made some unfavorable comments about Prince in the years after they worked together. “We all heard some of those things,” he said.
In response, Paisley Park’s official account posed in the comments,” Hello Sheila – We love and respect you, and we did offer for you to come in and film in the soundstage or other areas, but we couldn’t allow filming in the studios without prior knowledge and planning, especially with tours going on at the time. We hope to have you back to Paisley Park in the future – just give us a heads-up! Happy Prince Day 💜.”
Prince’s annual Celebration will be held at Paisley Park from Thursday, June 20 – Monday, June 24.
Sheila E. and The E Train are currently on tour at City Winery and other venues through Dec. 15.
See how social media is reacting to the snub below.
