Lionel Richie explains why Prince turned down ‘We Are The World,’ and it’s classic Prince

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Did you ever wonder why Prince wasn’t involved in the making of “We Are the World” back in 1985?

Lionel Richie, who co-wrote the 1985 mega-hit with Michael Jackson, has finally revealed why.

Richie told “Access Hollywood” that Prince’s turned down a part in the song because “that’s just Prince.”

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Simple enough, right?

“I mean, I sat on the phone with him for the longest time,” Richie said. “I said, ‘Prince, we’re all down waiting on you.’ He says, ‘Can I do it in a separate room?’ ‘Okay, I’ll call you back later.'”

“I would love to tell you that that’s different from anything else he’s ever done. That’s just Prince. Of course he’s not going to be at a group of singers at the time when we want him to show up.”

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Richie also recalled the AMA ceremony that took place just before the recording of “We Are the World,” in which Prince was a big winner but resisted even attending the awards.

Ritchie, who was hosting the awards that year, recalled that it was hard “to talk him into showing up.”

“He wasn’t gonna come,” Richie said.