The New Yorker Not Straight With Prince's Gay Talk?

Prince says he was "grossly misquoted" in recent New Yorker item; mag stands by its story

Was it a royal gaffe, or did Prince end up on the shallow end of a transcription?

A rep for the androgynously appealing artist is insisting that Prince was "grossly misquoted" in a Nov. 24 item in the New Yorker for which he was asked about social issues like gay marriage and abortion.

Here's what the "1999" singer, a self-proclaimed Jehovah's Witness, said, according to the magazine:

"So here's how it is: you’ve got the Republicans, and basically they want to live according to this," he said, pointing to a Bible. "But there’s the problem of interpretation, and you’ve got some churches, some people, basically doing things and saying it comes from here, but it doesn’t. And then on the opposite end of the spectrum you’ve got blue, you’ve got the Democrats, and they’re, like, ‘You can do whatever you want.’ Gay marriage, whatever. But neither of them is right."

Tapping the Bible, per the mag, he added: "God came to earth and saw people sticking it wherever and doing it with whatever, and he just cleared it all out. He was, like, ‘Enough.’”

Let's just say, in these tempestuous times, those remarks didn't sit too well with some folks, most notably blogger Perez Hilton, whose item titled "Prince Does Not Believe in Gay Rights" led to an attempt at an explanation from the Purple One's camp.

"We're very angry he was misquoted," an insider told the blog, adding that the writer-reporter, Claire Hoffman, didn't even use a tape recorder. (Rumor has it that Prince doesn't allow his speaking voice to be taped during interviews.) What Prince actually meant to say, was that the Bible teaches everyone to love each other and refrain from judgment.

Which is all well and good, but a New Yorker rep told Wired.com that the publication is standing by its story, including its use of quotations.