Dr. Dre issues apology over the women he’s physically abused in the past.
The rapper-turned-music-mogul addressed allegations, newly revived int he wake of Straight Outta Compton that he physically abused women. Following the allegations that he physically abused women, Dr. Dre issued a statement expressing how sorry for his actions.
“Twenty five years ago I was a young man drinking too much and in over my head with no real structure in my life. However, none of this is an excuse for what I did,” Dre told the New York Times. “I’ve been married for 19 years and every day I’m working to be a better man for my family, seeking guidance along the way. I’m doing everything I can so I never resemble that man again. I apologize to the women I’ve hurt. I deeply regret what I did and know that it has forever impacted all of our lives.”
Accusations by hip-hop journalist Dee Barnes and former R&B singer Michel’le, who was once the hip-hop star’s fiancee, that Dre assaulted them have received increased attention since the release of the N.W.A biopic Straight Outta Compton, which doesn’t include such incidents, causing Michel’le and Barnes to call out the movie omitting what they said happened to them.
Dr. Dre works as a consultant after selling his Beats company to Apple. The tech giant issued the following statement: “Dre has apologized for the mistakes he’s made in the past and he’s said that he’s not the same person that he was 25 years ago. We believe his sincerity and after working with him for a year and a half, we have every reason to believe that he has changed.”
Michel’le revealed Dr. Dre’s abusive history, telling morning The Breakfast Club, “When he gave me my very first black eye, we laid in the bed and cried. He was crying and I was crying because I was in shock, hurt and in pain. I don’t know why he was crying, but he said ‘I’m really sorry.’ That was the only time he ever said he was really sorry. And he said, ‘I’ll never hit you in that eye again, okay?'”
Meanwhile, Dee Barnes wrote an essay for Gawker where she discussed teh 1991 release party where Dre allegedly tried to throw her down a flight of stairs, choked her and pinned her to the floor of the women’s bathroom with his knee on her chest. Barnes settled out of court with Dre, who pled no contest to assault and served only two years probation. “The truth is too ugly for a general audience,” she wrote. “I didn’t want to see a depiction of me getting beat up, just like I didn’t want to see a depiction of Dre beating up Michel’le. … But what should have been addressed is that it occurred.”
