my mom is a survivor of a christian cult. I feel ya.

My best friend died from an extremely treatable form of thyroid cancer. He was a Christian Scientist.* He eventually did see an oncologist/doctor, but it was too late; it had metastasized to his lungs and bones. Toward the end he was emotionally devastated because he couldn’t reconcile (?) whether he let down his…

There are lots of things about Jehovah’s Witnesses that are plenty fucked up, just not so much about medicine. What you describe definitely sounds more extreme than anything I’ve heard of though.

I’m not saying that I believe this rumor but it’s not uncommon for someone with an addiction to be able to hide it well.

you know, drug addicts dont have to fit whatever stereotype you (and most people) have in their heads. there are MANY “very in control” addicts. it’s possible he had chronic pain and developed an addiction to pain killers. if you have a steady supply of opiates (which a celeb would bc of their access to the right DRs)…

It’s not like addiction is a moral failing, you can believe this and still miss the most talented musician of your lifetime. I get that preventable deaths seem more tragic than non-preventable deaths, but either way he’s gone. Maybe just... i dunno, give it a few days before you pass judgment?

but there is a lot of shame heaped upon people who realize that they need help outside the organization, be it medical in a physical way or in a psychological way.

I know lots of JWs, both as family friends and as patients in the dental practice I work at, and I’ve never heard anything like that. My honorary auntie is a JW, and her medical habits are indistinguishable from everyone else’s.* She takes medicine when she’s sick and is on anti-depressants for depression. Her mom is…

Very hard to believe he would be dying of AIDS, anyhow. This isn’t 1987. Prince would have received the best medical care if he had ever been diagnosed with HIV, which is a very manageable illness and has a virtually normal life expectancy for those with the means to treat it.

I’ll paraphrase the better and funnier tweeters:

Wow. No. I have coworkers and family members who are JW and they say their religion is absolutely fine with getting conventional medical treatment as long as it doesn’t mean getting a blood transfusion.

Yeah, but people in his religion don’t refuse to take medication. They just avoid blood transfusions. They don’t believe in faith-healing, according to the JW’s I've talked to.

It’s a bad thing.

I reacted to Prince’s death the same way I did when my dad,grandad,and stepdad died

his face tho

This is my least favorite part of celebrities dying (Besides, you know, the dying.) How he died isn’t any of my goddamn business.

this just doesn’t line up with prince as we saw him publicly. he never seemed out of control - always strong, confident, collected, witty, sharp. you never heard anything about him stumbling out of a club or anywhere else for that matter. i just can’t believe he was using drugs. it had to have been an accidental…

This constant flow of information is one of the reasons I hate TMZ.

How about we just wait for a bit before wildly speculating on the cause of death and enjoy remembering what an amazing artist he was....

As far as I know, he died a JW. But like you, I hope he didn’t. I never was one and I know enough about them to be glad of that.