While music legend Prince was alive, it would have been highly unlikely for anyone to pass up the chance to interact or even hang out with him. But veteran actress Nia Long did that, albeit unknowingly.
During an appearance on The Jennifer Hudson Show, Long, 55, recalled how she unintentionally gave the Purple Rain singer the cold shoulder while they were exiting a club.
“I was at Roxbury back in the day and I had on my Kenneth Cole pumps—I remember!” Long recalled, per WBLS. “We were walking out of the club and this guy tries to grab my hand. And I’m like, ‘I’m from Brooklyn, don’t be grabbing me, touching on me!’”
Long said that after getting outside, her girlfriend ultimately told her that the individual she had avoided was none other than Prince.
“We get outside and my girlfriend was like, ‘Girl, you know that was Prince!’” the Friday star said. Long and her friend rushed back to the club, but Prince was no longer around.
Long said that the incident happened around the early to mid-90s, a period when Prince frequently visited nightspots in Los Angeles. Despite missing out on that opportunity, Long got another chance when Prince attended a birthday party that her girlfriend organized for her. She said her girlfriend invited Prince.
“There’s a happy ending,” Long said. “I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh, Prince is at my birthday party!’” she added. “I sit next to Prince and I’m having this whole flashback about being in the club… and he wanted to talk about my hair all night.”
Long also jokingly said that Prince avoided talking about music, as he was rather interested in her hair care regimen.
“I’ll take what I can get,” the Boyz n the Hood star said while laughing. “It’s Prince. I was like, whatever you want—we can buy hair, makeup, skincare, whatever you want.”
