Prince hated holograms before they were even invented

“That whole virtual reality thing... it really is demonic. And I am not a demon.”

February 03, 2018
Prince hated holograms before they were even invented Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Ten years ago, the late Prince did an interview with Guitar World where he discussed the inevitable invention of holograms. Apparently, he was not down for the whole concept of virtual reality and found it disturbing.

ADVERTISEMENT

"That's the most demonic thing imaginable. Everything is as it is, and it should be. If I was meant to jam with Duke Ellington, we would have lived in the same age. That whole virtual reality thing... it really is demonic. And I am not a demon," he said. "Also, what they did with that Beatles song ["Free As a Bird"], manipulating John Lennon's voice to have him singing from across the grave... that'll never happen to me. To prevent that kind of thing from happening is another reason why I want artistic control."

Despite this opposition, Justin Timberlake and his team seem to be moving forward with including a hologram of Prince in his performance for the Super Bowl halftime show since the game is taking place in the late star's hometown. However, it's pretty clear that Prince would have found the whole display to be disrespectful to his legacy. Prince's former drummer Sheila Escovedo tweeted that he personally told her "don’t ever let anyone do a hologram of me."

ADVERTISEMENT

A few months ago, his sister, Tyka Nelson spoke with iNews about how she was considering reviving him in the form of a hologram for a series of shows.

"Holograms have previously been used to bring stars such as Michael Jackson and Tupac Shakur back to life for concert performances," she said. "The technology required to create a 3D illusion is expected to become more widely employed as mortality claims an increasing number of rock and pop legends."

Prince definitely isn't sending his blessing from the grave. Read the entire interview here.

ADVERTISEMENT
Prince hated holograms before they were even invented