PRINCE BEAT ME BUT I HAD TO STAY SILENT, SAYS SINGER JILL

Vocalist Jones on her long, complex relationship with star.. and his 'hateful' side

- BY TOM BRYANT Associate Editor (Showbiz) in Hollywood

WHEN Jill Jones sat down to share her memories of pop icon Prince for a Netflix documentary series, she had no idea of the firestorm she would unwittingly release.

The musician was well placed to speak. She had worked with Prince, providing backing vocals on his masterpiece 1999, and had a long, complicated relationship with him.

But her testimony, along with dozens of others, has never been aired.

The whole series, directed by Oscar-winner Ezra Edelman, was shelved after the singer's estate decided it would cause “generational harm” to his image. Fingers were then pointed at Jill amid claims that she had spoken about Prince violently attacking her.

Now, on the 10th anniversary of his death this week, Jill is ready to reveal what really happened and why her story, and their relationship, is far more complex than it has been portrayed.

She says: "My intention was to talk about the man as he is. He was lovable, adorable... but he could be hateful too."

So what happened? In 1984, Jill says she and a friend went to see Prince at a hotel where an argument broke out.

Jill was jealous after he started kissing her friend, prompting her to slap him.

She claims Prince responded by punching her repeatedly in the face.

Jill wanted to press charges but was warned against it by Prince' circle at the time.

And going to hospital was out of the equation too, in case the story leaked.

APOLOGY

"I was told I would ruin his career," she says. "They saw him as just money for them. They could make a lot of money. It just shows me how many people benefit."

The money-spinning Purple Rain tour was set to start later that year.

Jill says: "Had I come forward... it wouldn't have happened. But basically, after that, we made up because I had a surgery and he gave me a ton of toys, and this is how the apology was balloons, toys and candy."