He liked women

When I told one coworker about Prince, she said "Oh I gues it was an overdose?" Um no. I mean, yes, it might have been an overdose issue with painkillers. But we're not talking cokehead here. Not only because he was a Jehova's Witness, but even in his 20s he didn't drink or smoke or do drugs. Everyone attests to that. Even hiring people for the band, he had rules about that stuff. He did extacy in the 90s, that's all I know of.

Another time, another coworker said: Isn't Prince gay? My French didn't feel up to the full explanation of "No, but he didn't mind if people thought he was, well at least before he was a Jehova's Witness, and he was very much about playing with gender conventions, and you know a man can dress like a woman because really what does that even mean?" I left it to: "No. He was married a couple times."

My third Prince surprise comes when I see some internet comment about him being sexist or a misogynist. No I'm sorry, Prince did not hate women. Yes, he loved to see them in lingerie... but this is a man who performed in bikini underwear and leggings. Who wore assless pants to the American Music Awards.

I couldn't even make a list of the women he's had in his bands, and whose careers he's promoted, and who he's admired, and worked with. It's SOOO LONG. Joni Mitchell used to see him at her concerts when he was 15, and he wrote her crazy fan mail. He adored Chaka Kahn and supported her later in her career. He randomly came across Diane Birch in a hotel and invited her to jam with him:

"I was young, insecure and just starting to sing and write and you saw the thing in me I wanted to be and that was reason enough to believe in myself and go for it. From that day on, my life changed forever. The respect and support you've given to so many female artists is incredible, especially in an industry which is often so crushing to young women. I can't fathom a world without you in it, and thanks to your music, we will never have to live in one."