Aretha Franklin Speculates on Prince’s Death
The cause of death has yet been established in the sudden passing of Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Prince, early Thursday (April 21). Most news outlets have stopped short of supposing a motive, saying only that Prince was found unconscious in an elevator at his Paisley Park estate in Minneapolis, and pronounced dead shortly after 10:00 a.m. But as an investigation into the untimely tragedy has taken it’s course, so has speculation come to bare, with one big voice in the industry thinking out-loud as to whether he ultimately may have been killed by the Zika virus.
“They’re saying flu-like symptoms, I’m wondering if it’s had anything to do with this Zika virus,” R&B legend Aretha Franklin told MSNBC‘s Brian Williams within hours of the untimely news. The network’s host was just as lost for an explanation, working off of the verifiable prospect that it was the result of a common virus. “He was a vegan, he was a fitness buff, he was a dancer, he was very fit. For him to die of this…,” Williams responded.
Symptoms of the Zika Virus include fever, rash, and joint pain. While the coming of warmer weather is likely to increase the risk of the mosquito borne disease, as of now cases of infection on the mainland United States have been travel related. Over the past several months the illness has spread north from Brazil, and is at this point threatening to become a full blown health crisis in Puerto Rico and the rest of the Caribbean. Out of the 358 people who’ve brought the virus back to the states, 7 were in fact reported by the Center for Disease Control to be sexually transmitted. Prince just got back from completing a European tour, a trip which wouldn’t have likely put him at risk.