The stunning success of Straight Outta Compton has prompted a reexamination Dr. Dre's troubling history of violence against women, of which there was no mention in the film. Since the film's release, a few women, including R&B singer and Dre's former girlfriend Michel'le as well as hip-hop journalist Dee Barnes, have come forward to speak on Dre's past assaults against them and the "revisionist history" being shown in the N.W.A. biopic. Soon after Barnes wrote a highly publicized op-ed in reaction to the film and it's abuse-free narrative, Dr. Dre issued an official apology "to all the women I've hurt" via the NY Times, which both Michel'le and Barnes have since addressed.
Michel'lle and Dre dated from 1990 to 1996 and had a son together in 1991. In March, when the film was undergoing heavy promotion, Michel'le revealed graphic details about the extent and frequency of Dre's abuses in an interview with The Breakfast Club. "I had five black eyes, I have a cracked rib, I have scars that are just amazing. It was normal. Everybody that knew, it was the norm," she said.
Upon the film's release, she told VladTV about a time when Dre shot at her and the bullet missed "by inches."
She was not surprised that she was left out of the movie, nor does she find Dre's latest apology to be genuine.
"I didn't want a public apology. If he's going to apologize he should do it individually. To just group us like we are nothing and nobody -- I just don't think it's sincere, treat us like we have names," the singer told BBC's 5Live. She also suspected the apology, which was conjoined with a statement from Apple acknowledging Dre's remorse, was a vested interest -- "I think it's good PR at the moment."
Barnes, now in her second Gawker essay, wrote that she hopes Dre's words are sincere and that she sees a progression from "the man who didn't deny it and even bragged, 'I just did it, you know. Ain't nothing you can do now by talking about it. Besides, it ain't no big thing -- I just threw her through a door," taking the words Dre told Rolling Stone in 1991 shortly after the assault. She also noted the potential corporate motivations behind the apology, but ultimately wrote, "Who cares? The point is that he did it."
Since Barnes' first essay it has been revealed that a depiction of Dre assaulting her was originally included in the script. According to Barnes, said portrayal is a "fabrication intended to excuse his actions" as the scene falsely shows Barnes throwing a drink in Dre's face immediately before his violent assault. She finished by proclaiming that the backlash that has forced Dre to own up to his past is indicative of a time when men can no longer hide behind "great art."
"Creating notable, brilliant art does not absolve you of your faults. In the past, great art was enough to exalt men of their bad behavior, but in 2015 it's no longer the case. Survivors have a right and an obligation to speak up (#NoSilenceOnDomesticViolence). We are too loud, too correct, too numerous to be ignored."
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