Wolf Blitzer: “All of us remember Purple Haze and what that did for the world of music.” pic.twitter.com/f4v9bzLvzE
— Stefan Becket (@becket) April 21, 2016
On Thursday, hearts shattered everywhere after reports that Prince had passed away at age 57. No one can yet grasp that such an iconic rock god was, in fact, mortal, and the immediate outpouring after the news won’t stop anytime soon. Nor will the playlists, which have already began in earnest as folks gently weep to the sound of “When Doves Cry.”
CNN took swift notice of Prince’s passing and dropped their perpetual Donald Trump coverage. Yet Wolf Blitzer appeared to have trouble shifting gears, and the results were catastrophic. For years, people will recall the moment Blitzer recalled Prince as a visionary artist who will never be forgotten, but maybe he was really thinking of Jimi Hendrix: “All of us remember ‘Purple Haze’ and what that did for the world of music.” Yes, Blitzer really said this on-air, and a Prince fan swiftly Vined this moment for all of posterity.
As one can imagine, this gaffe will not be soon forgiven. Somehow, jokes are arriving even as people mourn the death of a beloved icon.
https://twitter.com/SethAMandel/status/723210098512957440
https://twitter.com/lauramannino/status/723206100447690752
https://twitter.com/NathanWurtzel/status/723213488982765568
If anyone can crack a smile after this sad news, it’s probably a good thing.
