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Prince turns doorstep preacher for Jehovah

Andrew Gumbel
Thursday 16 October 2003 00:00 BST
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It's weird enough to think of Prince, the epitome of 1980s funky cool, as a Jehovah's Witness. Weirder still, though, to have him doorstep you and then proselytise.

That was what happened to a Minnesota woman, identifying herself as Rochelle. As she recounted to the Minneapolis Star Tribune: "Door bell rings. My husband runs upstairs and says, 'Prince is at the door!' I said, 'No way.'" The diminutive pop star introduced himself as Prince Nelson, his real name, and, she said, launched into the standard "Jesus-loves-you" routine.

Unfortunately for him, Rochelle and her husband are Jewish and this was the night of Yom Kippur. She told Prince and his companion: "You've walked into a Jewish household. This is not something I'm interested in." But Prince was undeterred, staying for about 25 minutes and leaving a pamphlet.

Prince announced his conversion to the Jehovah's Witnesses two years ago. He subsequently released an album, The Rainbow Children, with overt sermonising.

Rochelle told her interviewer she didn't dislike her encounter with him. "There's no reason to slam him," she said. "He didn't do anything wrong; he was very kind."

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