Prince’s death inspires passionate, heartfelt, beautifully weird Twitter tributes

The internet mourns an icon.

When a titan like Prince dies, the grieving process is public, splashy, and raw. It ripples outward, first in spurts, then in waves. When someone means so much to so many — as Prince definitely did — their death carries extra weight. Sometimes all anyone can do is react.

Platforms like Twitter often compound grief, concentrating it into flash responses, shocked fragments of sentences, and an outpouring of personal reminisces on why and how a famous person touched lives in such an intimate way. Those responses could come from celebrities or politicians, from prominent writers and thinkers, people you went to high school with, or people you've never heard of. But they're all united by one idea: mourning someone whose work helped us better understand ourselves.

For Prince — who died at 57 on April 21, 2016 — it meant millions of tweets about his legacy, his art, his activism, and what he meant to weirdos, misfits, and minorities. His influence was widespread, and it will only continue to grow, as more people discover the depth of his musical catalog and unique approach to living.

We've compiled some of the most notable, memorable, and touching Twitter tributes to Prince. Read them below.

17 touching reflections on Prince's death