Did Prince have AIDS when he died?

On April 21, 2016, the world lost music icon Prince, who had been reported as suffering from the flu in the days leading up to his death. However, there are new reports made by The National Enquirer and Radar Online about Prince’s death.

According to The National Enquirer, a “music industry source” says that Prince had been preparing to die because he had AIDS. On April 19, 2016, the source allegedly messaged friends about Prince’s condition saying:

"He was in bad shape. Doctors told Prince his blood count was unusually low and that his body temperature had dropped dangerously below the normal 98.6 degrees to 94 degrees. He was totally iron-deficient, very weak and often disoriented. He rarely ate and when he did, it all came right back up."

In addition to the industry source, an employee of the Walgreens where Prince was reported to be picking up his own medication told The National Enquirer:

"We were all just shocked that he came in last night looking so beat. We said, ‘We are praying for you.

The worker then said that Prince’s response was this:

"He said, almost under his breath, ‘Maybe if you prayed for me a year ago it’d be different right now.’ Then he waved and said thanks anyway."

So, was Prince actually suffering from AIDS? Are The National Enquirer’s sources credible? Previously, The National Enquirer reported that Charlie Sheen had HIV and Sheen then came out that he did, indeed, have the disease.

The Santa Monica Observer had the same reports, saying that a source came to them two days prior to Prince’s death to tell them about his “AIDS diagnosis. According to the source, Prince contracted the virus in the 1990’s and kept the illness private. The source also said he hadn’t been taking certain medications for the disease because of his religion with the Jehovah’s Witnesses church.

An autopsy on Prince was performed on April 22, 2016 and results may take weeks to come back.