Tell Me You Love Me

Media Intervention

"How could we have been so careless?" Prince asked himself in a hushed whisper as he paced the room frantically. Panic had rooted itself in the core of his being and dispersed its appendages throughout the rest of his body. He looked back at the black and white paper folded neatly on the short, small, round table in the middle of the hotel room and recalled the rules and guidelines he and Michael created for themselves seventeen months ago when they decided to enter a romantic relationship together. Rule number one, and perhaps the most important rule of them all, was to keep the relationship a secret. With both of them being two of the most iconic celebrities of their generation, they were constantly scrutinized and expected to be and act a certain way. The expectations placed upon them did not include being homosexual in any way, and it certainly didn't entail them being together. They were held on impossibly high pedestals by millions of people, and they feared the success and careers they built would come tumbling down as soon a slight was shed on the reality of their situation and the public knew about their secret. Not only did they fear the rejection of their fans and peers, they were also terrified they would be rejected by their families. They had no other choice but to keep their romance,no matter how wonderful it was or how much they wanted to show the world how happy they were together, classified and confined within the walls of Prince's California home.

But he could feel it – the impending doom that lurked just around the corner for them. He could feel their worlds, their passions, their happiness standing on the edge of oblivion, and just one small push could send it all crashing down to be lost forever. His head was filling with many different emotions,including fear, sadness, and shame. Why he felt shame, he was unsure.All he knew was that it was there, and it wasn't a pleasant feeling to have.

He walked over to the table and picked up the paper. The bold black text of the headline hanging above the incriminating photo added trepidation to the mess of feeling in his mind. His eyes grazed over the front page story as he wondered if Michael had seen it yet. He concluded that he couldn't have; he was too busy entertaining and performing for a crowd of thousands of screaming, adoring people to be bothered by the local newspaper.

And that's what hit Prince the hardest.

It was not some magazine. It wasn't a tabloid that lacked credibility and could be easily dismissed as false information. It wasn't even a story fabricated by an overzealous journalist in need of a juicy story to strengthen their career. It was a newspaper – the local newspaper – printed and distributed in the grand city of Minneapolis. The fact that his own hometown newspaper was the one who blew the whistle on his most precious secret took the largest toll on him.

The second leg of Michael's Bad tour began in the United States, and the last city he would hit before leaving North America was Minneapolis, Minnesota where he would perform for three days, all sold out shows, for tens of thousands of people. Since he would be treading on his old stomping grounds,Prince decided to join Michael in Minnesota for the short time he would be there before he parted for Europe. Prince was beyond the point of excitement to be spending a couple of weeks with the one he cared for the most in the place he loved more than anything.

Michael was no stranger to Minneapolis, but Prince insisted on giving him a tour anyway. It was a different and more intimate experience for him,and Prince gave the city an entirely different personality. He showed him the best, the worst, and his favorite places all over town. It was special because it was just the two of them and Prince's sheer love and passion for their surroundings.