HHW columnist Cynthia Horner reports exclusively from Prince’s recent Madison Square Garden concert while bringing us up to speed on the Purple One’s philanthropic activities.
By now, everybody knows that Kim Kardashian got the boot from Prince when she didn’t shake it to his Royal Badness’ satisfaction, but lemme tell you, there were some other really important events that took place just prior to his last show at Madison Square Garden. First of all, Prince gave away $1.5 million to three local NYC charities. He’s giving the Harlem Children’s Zone a line of credit of $1 million, and $250,000 lines of credit to the Uptown Dance Academy and American Ballet Theatre. They’re lines of credit that he can remain involved in and know the needs of the organizations as they draw on funds to grow their groups and accomplish their missions. Some of the students were there for the check presentations, and they were thrilled to get a chance to see Prince and observe his sound check. And speaking of observing, a lot of people observed Prince greeting me and hugging me prior to his going up onstage. No, I wasn’t frozen in shock, I have a long history with this legendary performer and he thinks highly of me. “Long time, no talk,” he said. And that will be remedied! I have to give Prince credit for identifying charities that can really use his assistance. It’s rare for superstars to give back to the community on this level, and I know how much these students can benefit from these resources. Prince, you’re a jewel, and it’s a shame more people are talking about Kim’s embarrassing moment than the good you’re doing for young students. By the way, Cee Lo opened for him that night, and as usual, a lot of celebs were there, including Chris Rock, his wife Malaak Compton-Rock, and BET’s Stephen Hill.
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