In the wake of the tragic news of Prince’s passing, Tyler Perry posted an incredible story about his first time meeting the star in 2004. True to form, Prince left Perry surprised, speechless and entertained, all in one breath.
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Perry writes:
“About 12 years ago, I was playing the Kodak Theater in LA. I was on my way to the theater when my phone rang. I answered and heard a voice that almost made me wreck the car. The voice said, ‘I hear you’re doing a bit of Purple Rain in your show. Do it again and I’m going to sue you … and I need 10 tickets and I’ll be there tonight.’ Click. I freaked out. PRINCE HAD CALLED ME!!!”
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Later that night Prince rolled up in his limo with a smile on his face (and no lawyers.) To Tyler Perry’s relief, the music legend revealed he was actually a huge fan and stayed to watch the show.
Perry recalls making eye contact with Prince at one point during the performance. That’s when everything went wild:
“So, I queued the band to start playing Purple Rain and had someone bring Prince the microphone in the audience … BIG MISTAKE! He started to sing Purple Rain and the audience went CRAZY! I had never heard that kind of roar from a crowd before. 3400 people losing their minds!! He sang one verse and the audience was blown away. There was a standing ovation for him AT MY SHOW… lol. He was done singing and the audience wouldn’t stop applauding him. I still had 20 minutes to go before MY show was over. I knew at that moment that I had just been educated by royalty!!”
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Perry ended the funny story with a touching reflection about Prince’s gifts and legacy.
“He gave us so much of his genius that it is impossible to forget that he walked this planet… Thousands of years from now the world will still know that Prince was here. Travel well my beautiful friend.”