Prince: "I Was Born Epileptic" (VIDEO)

Prince announced Monday night on PBS' "Tavis Smiley" show that he was born with epilepsy.

"I've never spoken about this before, but I was born epileptic, and I used to have seizures when I was young," he told Smiley. "My mother and father didn't know what to do or how to handle it but they did the best they could with what little they had."

Prince continued, telling Smiley about how grateful he is today as he looks back on his emotional childhood:

My mother told me one day I walked into her and said, 'Mom, I'm not gonna be sick anymore.' And she said, 'Why?' I said, 'Because an angel told me so.' Now, I don't remember saying it, that's just what she told me, and from that point on I've been having to deal with a lot of things, getting teased in school. Early in my career I tried to compensate for that by being as flashy as I could and as noisy as I could. I just looked forward to this time in my life when I could reflect back on it, and talk to people like yourself, Dr. Cornel West...when you all come over tot eh house and we sit and we just talk about heavy things, I just become thankful, I don't know.

Watch:

Comments

[Jordan Conaway]

Prince is a BAMF. ya'll cant step to prince!

[BalletMom]

Truth.

[Chirp]

He doesn't really use it as a noun.

+++I've never spoken about this before, but I was born epileptic+++

+++I've never spoken about this before, but I was born blind+++

+++I've never spoken about this before, but I was born early+++

[alexii]

He hasn't aged in all these years.

[Titus Pullo]

I don't follow Mr " " so ... does he have a name again? Is it Prince or are we still doing the 'artist previously known as' or some such?

ah, who gives a rat's as...

[BigFootJesus]

You must. You bothered to comment.

[Ohioan730]

Remember the Michael Jackson -vs- Prince debate? I guess MJ lost. (Chris Rock). LOL!

I'm a little peeved at Prince. He (to borrow a Maddowism) formed a major part of my brain as a youth and now he gets all Jehovah's Witnessy on me. :( I still like him, though.

[BalletMom]

Yes - I remember the MJ v Prince debates. I always new Prince would win - they are both rather bizarre but Prince is the real deal when it comes to musical genius.

Q was the man behind MJ, no one like that for Prince.

[PoliticalRockChick]

Like I said before who would've thought we would see Prince as the sane one and Michael as the crazy one.

[woundedduck]

I like Prince in his "business" suit. But don't forget, like Charlie Murphy said, that boy can play some hoops.

[zorak1704]

And then he served us pancakes.

[pthesmith]

Ha!

[Jaysus]

B!tches!

[shag11]

It's about time he shows a human side. Next, Michael Jackson.

[who38]

He has always shown a human side; you just didn't notice.

[gulopartisan]

Does he mean "priapic"? At such a young age, too!

[helonias]

So your a chosen one whats next?

Sainthood.

[BlueZoo]

Okay... Used to love your music but you've strayed far from it lately. You're still a brilliant performer but you don't give enough concerts!

[raaf]

He's so full of himself.

[AngieMom57]

Makes me want to listen to his early stuff, when he was all "Loud"... ;-)

[GerryS]

s o w h a t ----------­----------­----

[hegdehog]

Prince is one of the funniest human beings on the planet, but he's also mad as a hatter. Just completely buggy.

[pinotnoir]

As the parent of a child with epilepsy, call me sensitive, but to describe a person as 'epileptic' has medieval connotations for me. It's a condition, not a state of being.

[biscuits-in-the-wind]

hi,
i think that when a person has a condition, he/she can call it whatever they like b/c they are describing what it is to them. i understand what you are saying b/c you are the parent and so you have a "protective, caretaker" role in your child's life especially due to your child's illness. however, prince's role in his disease is one who is afflicted. so prince and others who are sick have an insight- a certain view that those without the disease dont share and can never share or even understand. any life-altering medical condition is in reality a state of being due to the nature of the medical illness. of course i cant speak for Prince, so i truly dont know 100% what he meant, but i dont think he meant it in a demeaning or negative way b/c as he says in the interivew "the world is already mean enough and we dont need to add to it."

[who38]

Do you think that calling a person blind, deaf, or crippled is also medieval?

[SaltySaltillo]

(Channelling for pinotnoir): I think the point is that "blind" and "deaf" are adjectives that describe a quality or condition whereas "epileptic" is a noun, as if the individual is defined by that quality or condition.

[pinotnoir]

Overall, I believe 'disabled' is a better use of the language. However, I am only qualified to speak for those who suffer from seizures. Given that they are episodes in an otherwise healthy person's life, I don't see why they should be labelled in a way that historically was thought to also mean possessed.