More than a month after Prince was found dead at his Paisley Park estate in Minnesota, an anonymous official “close to the investigation” has confirmed that he died as the result of an overdose on opioids, the Associated Press reports. The Minneapolis Star Tribune also reported that its own anonymous source had confirmed cause of the pop star’s death.
Prince had been hospitalized days before his death after his plane was forced to make an emergency landing, which was attributed to a possible Percocet overdose. According to Sheila E, the singer had suffered from hip and knee pain as the result of years of jumping on stage in heels.
The revelation that Prince had possibly overdosed on pain-relieving drugs days before his death sparked a conversation about how we understand and report on painkiller addiction.
