Scrutiny into “Straight Outta Compton” demands explanation

Aug 22, 2015 08:30 GMT  ·  By
Dr. Dre issues apology for beating up women in the past, blames it on youth and alcohol
   Dr. Dre issues apology for beating up women in the past, blames it on youth and alcohol

Dr. Dre has never been better off career-wise, and this summer represented the peak of all his efforts: the unofficial N.W.A. biopic, “Straight Outta Compton,” which he produced, opened to solid reviews and excellent ticket sales, and his soundtrack, his first album in almost 2 decades, shot up the charts.

With “Straight Outta Compton” also came a lot of scrutiny into how the film whitewashed over the group’s misogyny and particularly Dre’s infamous track record of beating up women. He never directly addressed the claims through the years, but he’s forced to do so now: so he’s issued an apology to the New York Times.

Dre’s history of violence towards women is well known

Even though he never addressed the claims directly in the media, Dre’s history of violence towards women is well known. Through the years, 3 women have come forward to speak of the abuse they sustained at his hands, one of them being his former girlfriend and mother of his son, Michel’le.

The other is hip-hop journalist Dee Barnes, and the other is a former labelmate who dared to record a song dissing him, Tairrie B.

The details paint Dre as a very impulsive and violent man, one who would not hesitate to beat a woman to a bloody pulp even in public, if he considered she deserved it.

Dee Barnes was thrown against walls and through a door, and kicked in the ribs several times, after being knocked down by punches, because a segment that upset Dre had been included in the show she was hosting at the time. This hadn’t even been her decision (but her producer’s), but Dre considered she had betrayed him and proceeded to punish her accordingly.

Michel’le said she suffered many broken ribs, broken noses and black eyes during her time with Dre, but she never filed charges because that wasn’t part of the culture she’d been brought up in. The abuse got so bad that she came to believe that a man who didn’t beat her up didn’t love her.

Tairrie B was knocked down by several punches to the eyes and mouth at a 1990 Grammys afterparty. Dre had signed her to his label and had asked her to record a particular song he had prepared to her. She found it offensive and came up with her own version of it, which she laid down. It included a diss at his expense, so he simply walked up to her at the party, punched her senseless and left.

Dre is sorry, but he was young and liked to drink

As noted above, all this was brought back up to light with the film, which glossed over these details as if they never happened. An earlier draft of the script for the film included the Barnes beating, but it was eventually left out, for the obvious reasons.

Still, the attention that Dre has been getting online isn’t the kind that flatters the respectable businessman he is today. And when something’s not good for business, action must be taken.

“Twenty-five years ago I was a young man drinking too much and in over my head with no real structure in my life,” Dre says. “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.”

Because the rapper is now a top consultant with Apple, to whom he sold his Beats brand a while back, the company has also released a statement. You can find it by clicking on the button below, but it says basically the same thing: Dre was wrong and he’s sorry for it, no sense on getting fixated on the past.

Neither statement says anything about why it took Dre so many years to come clean with this apology.

Apple Statement On Dr. Dre