Dr. Dre Apologizes to ‘Women I’ve Hurt’

Dr. Dre has apologized to women he abused during the late 1980s and ’90s, after his history of violence against women resurfaced during the promotion of a biopic about his rise to fame.

“I apologize to the women I’ve hurt,” he told the New York Times. “I deeply regret what I did and know that it has forever impacted all of our lives.”

The newly-released Straight Outta Compton was a box office success, but its release has dredged up past complaints against Dr. Dre, who is both a co-producer and a subject of the film. Many critiqued the film for ignoring criticism of N.W.A. for being misogynistic, and omitting references to episodes when the rapper hit or abused women.

Hip-hop journalist Dee Barnes, who filed charges for physical assault against Dr. Dre in 1991, decried the film for Straight Outta Compton’s revisionist history at the expense of women excluded from the narrative.

Dr. Dre also said in the 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.”

[NYT]