Report says Prince is accused of physical and emotional abuse in unreleased documentary

Prince's ex-girlfriends have accused him of physical and emotional abuse in a bombshell nine-hour documentary, according to The New York Times Magazine, which has seen the unreleased film.

The film by Ezra Edelman (“OJ: Made in America”), which has been in development with Netflix for almost five years, includes interviews with dozens of Prince's former business partners, lovers, friends and associates. The documentary has been the subject of much dispute between the film's makers and Prince's estate.

Interspersed with reflections on his artwork are details of his personal failures, allegations of physical and emotional abuse, accounts of his own abusive childhood, and the fact that he abandoned his young wife, Mayte Garcia, after the couple lost their child , reports the Times.

In a statement shared with USA TODAY on Monday, Prince Legacy LLC – which includes the late singer's family members – and music publishing and talent management firm Primary Wave Music said: “Those responsible for carrying out Prince's wishes should be his Honor creativity and his genius.” .

“We are working to resolve questions regarding the documentary so that his story can be told in a way that is factually accurate and does not misrepresent or sensationalize his life,” the statement said. “We look forward to continuing to share Prince’s gifts and celebrating his profound and lasting impact on the world.”

USA TODAY has reached out to Netflix and Edelman representatives for comment.

Unreleased Prince documentary includes former partners and abuse allegations

The film features an interview with several of Prince's ex-lovers, including Jill Jones, who recalled a night in 1984 when she and a friend visited the singer at a hotel.

Jones claimed in the documentary that after the Grammy winner kissed her boyfriend, she slapped him. She recalled him saying, “This is not a (swear) movie.” The two began arguing before Jones said the singer began punching her repeatedly in the face. She said she didn't press charges after his manager told her it would end his career. She loved him and still wanted to be with him, so she stayed with him for years afterward, she reportedly said in the documentary.

Susannah Melvoin, the identical twin of The Revolution guitarist Wendy Melvoin, was also involved with Prince. She recalled that after the couple moved in together, he screened her phone calls and was stopped from leaving her home.

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The film also reportedly features an interview with Prince's ex-wife Mayte Garcia. The documentary follows their meeting when she was 16 and he was 35 after seeing videos of her belly dancing. In a letter Prince once wrote to her, shown in the documentary, he said he adored her and her virginity: “One of the main reasons I love and adore you is that you have no story. And what's even nicer is that you don't want one.

Garcia recalled that they began an intimate relationship when they were 19 years old. The couple married when she was 22, and on her wedding night she was given two songs: “Friend, Lover, Sister, Mother/Wife” and “Let's Have a Baby.” “

Garcia became pregnant and her son was born at eight months. The couple discovered that the boy had Pfeiffer syndrome type 2, which left him unable to breathe on his own, and decided to take him off the ventilator. Shortly after, Prince was on a plane for a show in Miami, according to the documentary.

Garcia recalled an incident a week after her child's death when Prince caught her crying on the floor and announced that Oprah would be interviewing the couple at their home that morning. Vault footage is reportedly shown in the documentary, in which Prince says to Garcia, who is wearing a white miniskirt and jacket, “We can see your dress.”

Garcia said Prince told her not to disclose her child's death during the interview, and eventually became cold towards her. The marriage was soon over, but Garcia doesn't criticize him in the film, the Times reports.

Prince employees remember “controlling” nature

Some of Prince's former associates, including members of the Revolution, recalled his controlling manner in dealing with him at times.

Revolution musician Lisa Coleman recalled in the documentary how, when the band asked for better pay, Prince told them that if they really loved him, they wouldn't ask for more. When the band members threatened to leave, the “When Doves Cry” singer called their bluff and the group disbanded in 1986.

Wendy Melvoin recalled in the documentary how, at a time in Prince's life when he was becoming more religious, he asked her to deny her homosexuality as a prerequisite for restarting the revolution. The story stands in contrast to Prince's former reverence for her sexual liberation. According to the Times, it was one of dozens of parts of the film that Prince's estate asked to be changed or removed.

Unreleased documentary reveals Prince's abusive childhood

Based on interviews in the documentary, Prince was said to have been kicked out of his mother's house at the age of 12 and his father's house at the age of 14.

Prince's sister, Tyka Nelson, recalled the abuse in their household at the hands of their father. Later, the documentary recalls the recurring estrangement between Prince and his family.

The film explores his longing for his parents' praise: “Hello Poppa, please play the page with a star on it. It's longer and better. “I love you, Prince,” reads a dedication from Prince to his father on a copy of “1999,” as seen in the documentary and according to the Times. Later, as his career reached great heights and in the midst of several attempts at reconciliation, the Film shows how Prince's father tries to claim credit for his success in interviews.

Estate blocks release of 9-hour Prince documentary

The Times Magazine said it conducted more than 20 interviews about the film. Deputy editor Sasha Weissis reportedly saw the unreleased documentary last year at a small, private screening in Brooklyn where other notables, including Questlove, also saw the film.

The Times reported that when Edelman's team conducted a screening of Prince's estate, a lawyer representing the estate later gave the film crew 17 pages of requested changes. Edelman's team made some adjustments, but it was reported that they failed to bring joy to the property.

In July, Variety reported that the tell-all documentary was “dead in the water,” and Prince's estate claimed the film contained several “factual inaccuracies.”

In a statement to the Times, Netflix confirmed that estate issues were one of the reasons for the documentary's delay, but did not elaborate.

“This documentary project has proven to be as complex as Prince himself,” the statement said. “We have meticulously archived Prince's life and worked hard to support Ezra's series. But there are still significant contractual issues with the estate that prevent the documentary from being released.”

The singer died at his home in Minneapolis in 2016 at the age of 57. Public data released six weeks after his death showed he died of an accidental fentanyl overdose.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Prince documentary contains allegations of physical and emotional abuse