Prince's Estate Fires Back at Apollonia

Prince's estate, Paisley Park Enterprises, has shot back at Apollonia's lawsuit filed this week against the estate for control of her name, calling it "frivolous".

A statement appeared on Prince’s official social media accounts earlier today:

“Regrettably, Ms. Patty Kotero a/k/a ‘Apollonia’ filed a frivolous lawsuit. As she acknowledges, Apollonia is the name Prince gave to the character played by Ms. Kotero in Prince’s movie, Purple Rain, over forty years ago."

"We never instructed her to cease using her adopted professional name, nor did we object to her business activities. In fact, we repeatedly offered her opportunities to perform at Paisley Park using this professional name."

“Ms. Kotero’s unwarranted lawsuit comes at the tail end of years-long disputes before the Trademark Trial & Appeal Board concerning trademark registrations, in which rulings are imminent and with respect to which we have sought a settlement numerous times despite her highly unreasonable demands."

"Unsurprisingly, her suit fails to acknowledge the cancellation of her APOLLONIA registration by the United States Patent & Trademark Office. We look forward to the rulings in the pending trademark proceedings and a dismissal of Ms. Kotero’s recent federal action. As is our duty, we will continue to protect and preserve Prince’s assets and legacy."

The statement curiously refers to the plaintiff simply as "Patty Kotero" rather than her full name of Patricia Apollonia Kotero, effectively omitting that the plaintiff's official birth name includes the name Apollonia.

Commentors on the Facebook post seem to be critical of the statement made by the estate:

"He is gone. Why not give it to her. Seems like you are holding on to it for his 'legacy' is further away from what he actually wanted." - Helen Johnson

"I’m very sure this would be a non issue with him. It’s petty, let her keep the name for goodness sake." - Pamela Moore-Hayden

"There’s no way he would want this 'estate' to have that name over Appollonia herself. Get real." - Seth Pause

One commentor states:

"Because of the new musical, for the first time in fourty years someone else will be playing Apollonia. For this (and obvious merch reasons) the Estate needs clear custody of the name again. It will be a mess." - Xlnt Grooves

Apollonia, who shot to stardom as Prince's love interest in the 1984 film Purple Rain and became his protégé, filed a 14-page federal lawsuit against Paisley Park Enterprises on August 19th, 2025, accusing them of "attempting to steal" her name, according to Rolling Stone magazine.

Rolling Stone says Prince’s estate "purportedly claimed that Kotero waived all of her rights related to the name Apollonia when she signed a 1983 contract for her Purple Rain role."

The lawsuit argues that Apollonia has been using the name for 40 years and that any ownership claimed by Prince's estate was “never enforced”, so the “alleged rights” expired “long ago.”

Prince died in 2016 at the age of 57 from an accidental fentanyl overdose.

Apollonia (Photo credit: Harry Langdon)