Arsenio Hall and Sinéad O’Connor nobly barge into the discussion around Prince’s death
As the musical world continues to work through the aftershocks of the death of Prince, people’s thoughts have turned in a number of natural directions. What will become of the artist’s Paisley Park estate? What about his legendary vault of unreleased music? What do Sinéad O’Connor and Arsenio Hall have to say about all this?
That last question has now been answered, with news that Hall is suing O’Connor for publicly claiming he’s the reason for his long-time friend’s demise. O’Connor made her claims on Facebook, where she wrote, “Two words for the DEA investigating where Prince got his drugs over the decades…. Arsenio Hall.” (She also alleged that Hall once tried to get her to use marijuana laced with another substance.)
Allegations and rumors that prescription drug abuse was involved in Prince’s death have been swirling around the case ever since April 21, when the beloved musician’s body was found in a Paisley Park elevator. O’Connor—who, it’s probably worth noting, is not a stranger to strongly worded, apparently unprovoked accusations on Facebook—claims that Hall was responsible for providing the artist with the pills that may have been involved in his death.
For his own part, Hall is suing O’Connor, calling her a “desperate attention seeker” in the suit, and asking for $5 million in damages. But the money, we assume, is less notable than the all-important goal, presumably shared by all parties, of keeping Prince’s legacy untarnished and intact.