Dr. Dre: "I apologize to the women I've hurt"
Dr. Dre has apologized to the women he "hurt."
Ex-girlfriend Michel'le and TV host Dee Barnes criticized the rapper and said that he beat them in the '90s. Dre pleaded no contest to assault charges after he hit Barnes; she penned an essay for Gawker on Tuesday about how it felt to watch "Straight Outta Compton" and see her story completely omitted.
"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 wrote. "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."
Michel'le told Vlad TV that she was glad to know her painful past would not be rehashed in the film; she said Dre had broken several of her bones and left her with physical scars from regular beatings.
Singer Tairrie B also told the Times that Dre punched her twice in the face at a Grammys after-party in 1990.
Now, he's finally apologizing. He told the New York Times in a statement: "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. 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."
He continued: "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 had addressed the allegations before in Rolling Stone, but without directly apologizing. He said to the magazine, "I made some f***ing horrible mistakes in my life," he said. "I was young, f***ing stupid. I would say all the allegations aren't true -- some of them are. Those are some of the things that I would like to take back. It was really f***ed up. But I paid for those mistakes, and there's no way in hell that I will ever make another mistake like that again."
The Times implied that Dre may be apologizing now because the recent uproar, brought back into the spotlight thanks to the success of "Straight Outta Compton," could affect his business dealings in addition to his reputation.