Dr. Dre has issued a public apology to the women he says he’s “hurt” after his exes, R&B singer Michel’le Toussaint, rapper Tairrie B and hip-hop journalist Dee Barnes spoke out about his abusive past, following the release of 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,” Dre said in a statement to The New York Times on Friday. “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,” he continued. “I deeply regret what I did and know that it has forever impacted all of our lives.”
Earlier this week Barnes penned a personal essay in Gawker, detailing her rocky relationship with the former N.W.A. group mate titled, “Here’s What’s Missing From Straight Outta Compton: Me and the Other Women Dr. Dre Beat Up.”
Toussaint, who has a son with the rapper took a different approach, telling told Vlad TV “Why would Dre put me in it? I was just a quiet girlfriend who got beat up and told to sit down and shut up.”
According to The Los Angeles Times, an earlier draft of a Straight Outta Compton script depicted an altercation between the rapper and Barnes but it was soon after omitted. In 1991 Dr. Dre pleaded no contest to assault and battery and received no jail time. Toussaint and Tairrie B never pressed charges against him.
Since its release just one week ago, the hip-hop biopic has made more than $80 million. And while Dre’s exes coming forward has seemed to ruffle a few feathers (and rightly so), the flick continues to climb to the top of the box office. But was his apology enough to clear his name? Let us know in the comment section below.
