Source: Gabe Ginsberg / Getty
Super producer, Dr. Dre, has been having a great past two weeks after the release of his well anticipated film ‘Straight Outta Compton’. That success was met with a bit of drama as past love interests of Dr. Dre who speak of his domestic abuse and were wondering where their cameo was in the film. Dre responded to their claims with an apology for his past behaviors:
“Twenty-five years ago I was a young man drinking too much and in over my head with no real structure in my life,” the iconic producer began in a statement. “However, none of this is an excuse for what I did. 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.”
Dr. Dre has been working closely with Apple in recent years and they have backed his apology:
Apple, the company who made Dre something like a billionaire, issued a backing 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.”
Dee Barnes responded speaking about her being ‘black-balled’ in the industry after her settlement with Dre. Barnes detailed in an article with Gawker:
“I have been routinely accused of ‘living in the past’ and of not letting this go, but it was Dr. Dre himself who was living in the past and couldn’t let it go so he created a permanent reminder of the ‘Dee Barnes incident,’ Barnes writes in reference to her name being mentioned in Eminem’s 1999 single, ‘Guilty Conscience,’ the first digital age allusion to the incident. “And Eminem is not the only one; there are numerous songs that mention the incident, enough that essentially turned me into a, uh, punchline. Of the women assaulted by Dre, I was the only one to press criminal charges against him. I’m also the only one whose name later came up in one of his songs. ‘Guilty Conscience’ and the other songs containing the reference are products of clear and obvious misogyny on a cultural level and for what? Jokes?”
Michel’le also spoke about the abuse and the public apology saying that it was unwarranted:
“I didn’t ask for a public apology, and I think if he is going to apologize, he should do it individually,” she tells BBC Radio 5. “To just group us like we are nothing and nobody — I just don’t think it’s sincere. Treat us like we have names. He’s selling a movie. I just think it’s good PR at the moment.”
