Contrite. Dr. Dre apologized on Friday, Aug. 21, to the women he allegedly assaulted in his twenties, after accusations resurfaced in the wake of the release of his biopic, Straight Outta Compton.
“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 billionaire Beats founder, 50, told the New York Times. “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."
Dre's apology comes after several women, including his former fiancee Michel'le and hip-hop journalist Dee Barnes, came forward this week claiming that Dre had once physically abused them.
Barnes detailed her story to Gawker this week, recalling one alleged harrowing incident. "Dr. Dre straddled me and beat me mercilessly on the floor of the women’s restroom at the Po Na Na Souk nightclub in 1991," she shared. "That event isn’t depicted in Straight Outta Compton, but I don’t think it should have been, either. The truth is too ugly for a general audience. 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."
"No More Lies" hitmaker Michel'le told VladTV this week that Dre was allegedly abusive during their six years together. "Why would Dre put me in it? If they start from where they start from," she claimed of the film's depiction of her story line. "I was just a quiet girlfriend who got beat up and told to sit down and shut up."
The mogul was never formally charged with assault.
Alongside Dre, Apple — which sells his Beats products — also issued a statement on Friday. “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.”
