Carmen Electra Reflects on Prince’s Legacy and Their First, ‘Awkward’ Meeting

Entertainer Carmen Electra is gracing the cover of LaPalme's summer issue, in which she opened up on her relationship with Prince.

Electra, who eventually became the music icon's protégée, revealed, "That first time I met Prince, he was very quiet. I was very shy, so there was this awkward moment of us just kind of standing in front of each other. He broke the ice by asking me if I wanted to play pool, and I was so horrible that he just kept laughing at me.”

Prince also had some influence on her stage name. Electra explained, “I went in the studio and I loved it, but I reminded him that my name was Tara. He told me, 'You look like a Carmen, so, to me, you're Carmen.'”

Prince died unexpectedly at his Paisley Park estate in late April, and many are still wondering about the cause of his death. His mysterious nature was even apparent when he was alive and well. Carmen pointed out, “He was so mysterious, but one of the wittiest people I've ever met. He was simply one of a kind.”

“As an artist and as a person Prince was so extraordinarily generous. It was very generous for him to give me chance to start a music career, and I'll always be grateful that he believed in me and took a chance on me,” Carmen shared.

Once news broke of his death, many stars took to social media to express their sadness over the “Purple Rain” singer. Carmen elaborated, “We're all devastated, and it didn't seem like it was his right time to go. It's hard for everyone, from the people who knew him well to the people that never even met him, because he touched everyone's life in some kind of way with his beautiful spirit and his powerful music.”