Pop superstar Prince had been treated for a drug overdose just days before his Thursday death and had left the hospital earlier than recommended, TMZ reported Thursday night.
Citing “multiple sources,” the entertainment news site reported that a hospital in Moline, Illinois, had to give the musician a “save shot” of the kind typically given to counteract opiate overdoses.
An autopsy to determine Prince’s cause of death was planned for Friday, The Associated Press said.
Prince’s representatives had acknowledged that his private jet had to make an emergency landing in Moline last Friday on his way back from an Atlanta concert, but said it was because of the flu.
TMZ openly cast doubt on that, noting that the plane was less than an hour from Prince’s Minneapolis home — not a make-or-break amount of time for a 57-year-old healthy enough for public music performances the day before.
According to TMZ, Prince’s obsession with privacy caused him to leave the Moline hospital long before doctors wanted him to do so.
“Our sources further say doctors advised Prince to stay in the hospital for 24 hours. His people demanded a private room, and when they were told that wasn’t possible. … Prince and co. decided to bail. The singer was released 3 hours after arriving and flew home,” TMZ wrote. “We’re told when Prince left he ’was not doing well.’ “
Prince gave a later concert at his Minnesota home where, according to a TMZ editor, he told his audience “wait a few days before you waste any prayers.”
• Victor Morton can be reached at vmorton@washingtontimes.com.
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