Primary Wave Music and Prince Legacy, two companies with ties to Prince’s assets, released a statement Monday afternoon in response to reports of an unreleased documentary accusing the late musician of physical and emotional abuse.
“Those with the responsibility of carrying out Prince’s wishes shall honor his creativity and genius,” the statement reads. “We are working to resolve matters concerning the documentary so that his story may be told in a way that is factually correct and does not mischaracterize or sensationalize his life. We look forward to continuing to share Prince’s gifts and celebrate his profound and lasting impact on the world.”
On Sunday, a lengthy report from the New York Times Magazine revealed that an unreleased nine-hour documentary from O.J.: Made in America filmmaker Ezra Edelman featured interviews with dozens of Prince’s former business partners, lovers, friends and associates which included multiple allegations of physical and emotional abuse.
The article chronicled a dense back-and-forth between the film’s production team and Prince’s estate in a battle over the documentary’s release. Per NYT, the project has been in development with Netflix for nearly five years.
The film allegedly includes an interview with Prince’s ex-lover Jill Jones, who recalls a night in which he slapped and repeatedly punched her in the face. Another past relationship, Susannah Melvoin, reportedly told filmmakers that after she moved in with the musician, he monitored her phone calls, told her not to leave the house and tried to keep her separated from her sister. In another interview, his ex-wife Mayte Garcia allegedly recalls being left alone after her and Prince’s child died.
Other interviews allege the famous singer exhibited controlling nature and that he suffered abuse as a child. Additional sources, however, also recall positive memories of the singer, which created what Edelman described as one of the hardest projects of his career.
“How can you tell the truth about someone who, when you’re talking to people, they all had different things to say?” he said.
In a statement to NYT, Netflix said “this documentary project has proved every bit as complex as Prince himself. We have meticulously archived Prince’s life and worked hard to support Ezra’s series. But there are still meaningful contractual issues with the estate that are holding up a documentary release.”
