Prince's ex Apollonia Kotero threatens to expose Sheila E's 'continuous lies' in tell-all memoir
Former Prince protege and longtime friend Apollonia Kotero has called out Sheila E after she released her tribute 'Lemon Cake' to the late icon. The tribute, released on April 16, comes days before the homage special to Prince titled 'Let's Go Crazy: The Grammy Salute to Prince', which is scheduled for release on April 21.
In a lengthy heated comment on Facebook, Kotero, who was once Prince's girlfriend, took the time to make sure everyone knew how she felt about Sheila E. "You are so desperate to be RELEVANT as the brilliant Linda Perry said," she opened her note and said, "Prince refused to acknowledge you for 5 years before his death because of your lies." She said that she was left "crestfallen" after finding out that money that she and Sheila E raised for "charity funds" went into Sheila's "dirty pocket$ (sic)."
"Prince scolded me! He knew better. You can’t continue to fool our Prince fans any longer. Because I AM here to tell you it’s over. Time for the truth."
She claimed that she has important information that Prince revealed to her about her old friend's wrongdoings which she will share in her memoirs, and said it is as "painful" for her to do so because of their past friendship. "Prince was so angry because of all your continuous lies. Your bio filled with lies. He sent you legal letters as you were slandering him. I have copies and will include them in my memoirs. You need to stop using Prince in death. You need to stop using Purple Rain ☔️ as a vehicle. YOU ARE NOT ON OUR CAST LIST.
"Prince outed you. Prince called you HeShe. At first, I thought this was not nice. But I listened to him. I listened to all of his complaints and even then, I did not want to be in between you both. It was painful for me because I loved you both. But once he was killed, you exposed your true self. It broke my heart. He was right all along." Kotero also referenced Sheila's involvement with a 'Purple Rain' boat cruise tour in 2016 and her selling of Prince logo t-shirts before adding, "Why did you tell The Revolution April 2016 that YOU knew how Prince died BUT you could not tell them!?!"
She concluded her criticism with, "Please get over yourself: YOU ARE NOT PRINCE. You will never be. You can copy his attire, try your best, but you will NEVER be Prince 👑 So get over yourself sad self and face the truth. He did not want anything to do with you for 5 years. You erased all that history by being your desperate egotistical self. Egotistical empty sad desperate for money. Money will not get you to Heaven. Time to come out and tell the truth. God forgives🙏🏽"
According to Billboard, Sheila E recalled memories she had with Prince in the studio when she released 'Lemon Cake', where she says, "One day I mentioned to him that I make good chocolate and lemon cake." She said he responded, "Oh, I didn’t know you cooked," before adding, "I said, ‘Of course I do. My mom being Creole and my dad Mexican, I better know how to cook.’ The next day I baked a lemon cake. It was love at first sight and one of his favorite things that we would share in the studio.”
Facebook users were quick to comment. "Wow this has really shaken me! I had no idea. Thank you for sharing and being brave enough to speak up and tell the truth at a time when all others appear to be cashing in. I look forward to your memoirs," says a user. A Kotero fan also commented and said, "I’ve heard many things and had my own feelings on her since his death. I loved the music but the things I saw never sat well with me after he passed. Even when she says he proposed to her onstage in her book. Just don’t believe that. The truth will always come to light. Stay classy our true purple Queen. Luv you."