Prince’s Purple Rain House Is Now an Airbnb—PETA Asks Guests to Gett Off Meat During Their Stay

For Immediate Release:
October 8, 2024

Contact:
Moira Colley 202-483-7382

Following the news that the Minneapolis house from Prince’s classic film Purple Rain is available for rent on Airbnb, PETA sent a letter today to hosts Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman—former members of The Kid’s backing band, The Revolution—urging them to honor the icon’s animal rights legacy by asking guests to eat only vegan meals during their stay. The group notes that Prince kept his Paisley Park estate meat-free—a rule that’s still in place years after his passing—so it would make sense to do the same in the Purple Rain house.

“Asking guests to eat vegan would reflect Prince’s compassion and help people connect with his values while experiencing his world,” says PETA Senior Vice President Lisa Lange. “PETA urges Prince fans everywhere to emulate his kindness to all living, feeling beings by leaving animals off their plates—just as he did.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. The group also offers a free vegan starter kit on its website for anyone ready to make the switch. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on X, Facebook, or Instagram.

PETA’s letter to Melvoin and Coleman follows.

Hi Wendy and Lisa,

Greetings from PETA! I hope you’re both doing well. We adore the concept of the Purple Rain Airbnb and have an idea to make it even more meaningful for Prince’s fans: Ask them to gett off animals’ backs by eating only vegan food during their stay. As you know, Prince wasn’t just a musical genius—he was also a dedicated vegan and animal rights advocate. From donating “Animal Kingdom” to PETA to keeping his Paisley Park estate meat-free and serving gourmet vegan meals to reporters, he made it clear that compassion for all beings was central to his life.

Asking guests to commit to eating only vegan food during their stay would help fans make a deeper connection with The Kid and the beautiful ones he cared so much about: animals. It would also be a real sign o’ the times, as a global shift to vegan eating is more urgently needed than ever. Every year, billions of chickens, cows, pigs, fish, and other animals are crammed onto filthy factory farms, forced to live amid their own waste and dead and dying animals, before being shipped to a terrifying slaughterhouse where workers will slit their throats and dismember them, often while they’re still conscious. Raising and killing animals for food is also one of the primary contributors to the climate catastrophe, pumping massive amounts of methane and carbon dioxide into the air as rainforests are razed to clear land to feed cattle and water sources are sucked dry by this industry’s insatiable thirst. There’s no controversy: Even the United Nations has said that we must urgently reduce our meat, egg, and dairy consumption in order to avoid the worst effects of climate change.

We know fans would find themselves delirious over the chance to stay in this legendary space and indulge in vegan meals that honor Prince’s spirit and legacy—and give all beings on the planet the chance to play in the sunshine.

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!

Best,

Nicole Cummins
PETA