Prince Painkiller Addiction: Close Friends Drop Bombshell About His ‘Decade-Long’ Battle With Painkillers


Prince’s untimely death took the world by storm. Almost immediately after detectives confirmed the body found inside the Paisley Park estate was, indeed, Prince, fans everywhere began asking, “Why?” and “What happened?” Although there’s still no substantial evidence to explain Prince’s death, speculative details have been looming since the day he died. It has been rumored that Prince was addicted to painkillers, and Percocet may have contributed to his death.

While the rumors have yet to be confirmed or denied, Prince’s close friends are speaking out with details about his use of painkillers insisting he was, indeed, addicted. According to Us Weekly, they’ve also revealed how the painkiller addiction began. Apparently, his use had nothing to do with any form of recreational high. Prince was very much in pain and had been suffering from hip problems for much longer than previous reports suggested.

Initially, it was reported that Prince had been battling hip pain for a couple years, but his close friends claim the addiction to opioid painkillers began more than a decade ago. The excruciating hip pain, which stemmed from dancing, “30 years of jumping off speakers with 4-inch shoes on,” and wearing high heel shoes, also resulted in a hip replacement surgery back in 2010, but unfortunately, even the surgical approach didn’t ease the pain.

When the discomfort would become unbearable, Prince would fly to his $12 million home in Turks and Caicos to rest. Unfortunately, even the getaways didn’t numb the pain. So, Prince slowly became dependent on painkillers to ease the discomfort. Before long, the use of painkillers gradually escalated to the point of addiction.

Sky Dangcil, Prince’s longtime musical collaborator and violinist from 2000 to 2007, and his hairstylist, Kim Berry, shared details about his painkiller addiction behind the scenes. Since the “When Doves Cry” singer worked vigorously to make sure he performed up to par at all times, he’d take painkillers to get through performances.

“Everyone saw that his hips were turning into a bigger problem,” Dangcil said. “He was always ‘on,’ so he wouldn’t complain or say anything was wrong.”

“He was always in a lot of pain,” Berry admitted.

The latest report about Prince’s painkiller addiction follows a string of reports about the outlandish number of people who have come forward claiming to be related to the legendary performer. Apparently, more than 700 people insist they are related to Prince and are hoping to get their piece of the purple estate estimated to be worth more than $300 million.

In addition to Prince’s six siblings battling for their piece of the pie, a young man named Carlin Qar’Tune Williams has also come forward claiming to be the only son of the Purple Rain singer. Although Carlin has filed a paternity claim in Carver County District Court to determine if Prince is his biological father, no further details have been released about Carlin’s claim.

However, news outlets have been able to dig into Carlin’s sordid past. According to Radar Online, Carlin had developed quite a rap sheet prior to making headlines in the wake of Prince’s death. It has been reported that Carlin, who is currently incarcerated at a Missouri prison, is behind bars for cocaine trafficking, possession of cocaine, and assault. However, despite his past, a judge has granted him the right to a paternity claim. So is he really the only legitimate heir to Prince’s massive estate? At this point, no one really knows. Only time will tell.

[Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images]

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