A few weeks ago, we discussed the Rolling Stone cover interview with Dr. Dre and Ice Cube. They were talking about their time with N.W.A. and their work on the bio-pic Straight Out of Compton. When I covered it, I noted that I was uncomfortable with the way both Ice Cube and Dre spoke about their violent pasts and their history of misogyny. I also said I was interested in hearing about how that violence and misogyny was dealt with in the film. Skip ahead a bit and SOOC is a huge hit, a massive success. And many people involved with the film have been criticized for taking out parts of violent misogyny, Dr. Dre’s history specifically.
In the wake of the film’s success, several women who were abused and beaten by Dr. Dre came forward to tell their stories. His ex-fiancée Michel’le spoke at some length last week and Dee Barnes, a music journalist, wrote a lengthy Gawker essay about her experience, which included Dr. Dre violently brutalizing her in January 1991. Their stories are heartbreaking and if I’m being honest, I could even get through Dee Barnes’ entire essay. Dre’s assaults on both women did not make it into SOOC.
While Dre spoke about his violent past with Rolling Stone a little bit, he didn’t directly acknowledge what he had done or when he had “changed” or anything like that. But on Friday, Dre issued an apology via the NYT. Here’s what he said:
“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. 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.”
Then, sort of nonsensically, Apple also issued a statement to be folded into Dre’s apology. Apple’s statement is: “Dre has apologized for the mistakes he’s made in the past and he’s said that he’s not the same person that he was 25 years ago. We believe his sincerity and after working with him for a year and a half, we have every reason to believe that he has changed.” While Apple is in business with Dre – Apple purchased Dre’s Beats Electronic last year for $3 billion, and Dre now works for Apple in some capacity – I’m not really understanding why Apple is making a pre-emptive excuse/explanation for Dre. It would be interesting if the SOOC filmmakers apologized for not including Dee Barnes’ story and Michel’le’s story in the film, but is Apple just trying to protect their investment or what?
As for Dre’s apology… I don’t know. Do I believe that he’s “grown up” and become a better and less violent man? Sure, I’ll believe that. But I also believe that what he did to Dee Barnes and Michel’le were violent felonies and “I apologize” doesn’t cut it in some cases.
Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet, WENN.
I’m sure those aren’t the only two he hit. He may have stopped years ago, though, or it may be it’s kept on the down low. I give him the benefit of the doubt, though, since we haven’t heard anything. Sean Connery still beat his wife over the years. Age and maturity didn’t slow him down.
John Lennon beat women. He said he changed after the birth of his son with Yoko, I think it was. I’m not sure.
He also beat Tairrie B., a female white rapper that was one of Eazy-E’s proteges. Tairrie is supposed to address this in her upcoming autobiography (she now sings metal music).
As for his statement, this sounds like something that he was encouraged to do by Apple shareholders…I am sure they knew of his past when they bought Beats (the Dee Barnes incident was widely covered and Michel’le has discussed his abuse over the past couple of years) but now that these events are getting more coverage due to their omission from the movie, addressing it in Rolling Stone wasn’t enough, hence the statement.
Whether or not Dre has changed, I don’t know. He’s been married to his wife for 19 or so years and if he has beat her, she has not said and there has not been rumors of such. I can only hope he has indeed changed.
He also repeatedly beat his former fiancée, Michel’le.
I totally agree. I’ve always felt that there were more women that he assaulted and they just haven’t come forward. His apology seems hollow. I don’t know. Maybe it’s just me.
He’s sorry? No. It no longer serves his purpose to violently assault women because the rewards of his lucrative empire building exceed the risks of perpetrating further violence.
He needs a beats down of his own.
Exactly. I do not accept his corporate sponsorship based apology.
Also, I don’t appreciate him lumping himself in with the women he victimized.
It is unacceptable for there to be violence against women, period. I liked his apology and he hasn’t been in the news about his violence against women lately,it still doesn’t lessen the the fact that he did put his hand on a woman. I don’t know if he’s changed. I’d love to think he has, but maybe his wife is good at hiding the abuse. He does have a track record.
Dre is only sorry that the beating allegations are taking the shine away from his glorification in “Compton.” It’s ridiculous it’s taken him so long.
A beat down of his own? No. I disagree. He’s someone who spent all of his formative years being beat down by society in one way or another. Without excusing his behavior, it’s not a shock that was the behavior he perpetuated. That’s how these cycles continue on. There needs to be more discussion about the root causes of these cycles and less focus on punishment for those who were part of it. That’s not to excuse the behavior but you have to treat the cause, not the symptom–and society (the white power structure) bears some responsibility. A lot of responsibility! So does he, of course. But WHEN is the damage caused by institutionalized racism ever going to be fully taken into account??
Playing devil’s advocate ,when white men are abusive what’s their excuse? Society?
This. Honestly, I am not excusing his behavior but we’re far too quick to blame him SOLELY and not look at the greater causes for why his behavior occurred in the first place.
So if a dirt-poor-from-birth “white trash” alcoholic man beats his girlfriend or wife, it’s partly society’s fault? If a bedraggled single mother beats her children, it’s partly society’s fault? Whenever anyone who’s had a rough life commits violent, criminal acts, it’s partly society’s fault?
I disagree, sorry.
While I do agree that this may be the case in explaining the “Angry Black Man” syndrome/stereotype to a degree, I don’t know how I feel taking away the personal responsibility any person has in their part in a violent cycle. Just like a white child who witnesses violence in the home, or a child who was abandoned by their father, we hope and try to teach the next generation to do better and not repeat those mistakes. Some do and some don’t. It is in all of us to be better and do better. For some men, it’s easier to make excuses. I can’t consign that.
As for Dre, isn’t he known for his closeted proclivities? Closeted men are known to beat the women in their lives. Almost like a “it’s your fault you’re not enough and that’s why I like men” kinda thing.
@ FingerBinger
Honestly, yes. A racist, patriarchal society begets violent men of all races. White men are socialized to feel entitled to female bodies, and they’re groomed from a young age to be unapologetic about taking up space, feeling superior, acting out, etc. Obviously this doesn’t CAUSE abuse… but in a society that favors them, abusive and violent white men are more likely to believe that they can get away with treating women as objects and even committing violent felonies.
Black men feel entitled to female bodies too — and black female bodies are dehumanized like no other, so they’re especially powerless and voiceless as victims — but black men are also silenced and ignored and targeted as criminals. And men in general are conditioned to view emotions as weakness, so they’re less likely to seek productive means of channeling and alleviating all those understandable and inevitable feelings of anger and powerlessness. Again, this doesn’t cause abuse directly, but it does lay the social framework for black women to be brutalized without repercussions.
@ lem
It’s not that it’s “partially society’s” fault, though. I don’t agree with that, and I’m not sure it was the intended message of the original comment. It’s just that our society is still very broken, and as long as it’s broken, women will be victimized by men and black women will feel especially powerless. In order to end cycles of abuse and reduce the likelihood of domestic violence and sexual assault, we need to take a look at the conditions and laws that made it so easy for this stuff to happen unnoticed for so long. It’s not enough to point our fingers at individual abusers; we should ALSO look at the larger picture.
I cannot believe you are looking for any excuse on the planet to say Dre isn’t responsible for kicking the crap out of women. Mark Wahlberg was poor, barely raised by his family, loads of siblings, and beat a man until he blinded him. That is not excusable, but you’re using institutionalized racism and poverty cycles to excuse Dre’s consistent, continued violence? How many years exactly do you intend to set the women’s movement back? He routinely beat the crap out of women and deserved to be punished for it. We are “too quick to blame him solely”? Who should we blame? Was someone else kicking women into unconsciousness? Using race to excuse someone’s criminal behavior is as racist as it gets. “Oh, you don’t get it, the way they’re raised, you have to understand-” How condescending can you get? “Oh, we understand all you blacks, we get that you live in poverty…” Good lord. And this guy has been rich for a long time. What has he done to show he has changed? Raised awareness for abused women? Started a charity for domestic violence? No? Oh, he just said he was sorry? Well, then! That’s cool, because he’s a victim of his upbringing. Punching many different women out totally excused! After he beat Dee, he said this: “It ain’t no big thing – I just threw her through a door.” And he’s so regretful and such a victim, that she’s blacklisted and can’t get a job. He couldn’t be bothered to help the woman he’s allegedly sorry for attacking and you are pretending you aren’t looking for reasons he did what he did.
Hey, what about Cosby? He grew up in a terrible time for African-Americans, suffered a difficult childhood, etc- it’s probably not his fault that he was raping women, right? Here’s what Dre’s former victim- sorry, fiancée- had to say about him: “I was just a quiet girlfriend who got beat on and told to sit down and shut up.” Here’s 1 of society’s problems: a bunch of women talking philosophically about racism, insisting that they don’t exactly excuse the beatings, but, you know, SOCIETY and all that. Humans are just that- humans- and some of them suck and you can’t make excuses for them. Bill Cosby is a rapist. Dr. Dre routinely beats women. And they need to be shut down, along with any other person who abuses or rapes. And any female that doesn’t stand, immediately, with these women should be ashamed.
I believe him – and that he has changed – as much as I believe Marky Mark, which is not at all.
Dre needs to do more. He has the means to raise awareness of respecting your girlfriends, your wives, your mothers, your sisters, your daughters to the hip hop community. The huge elephant in the room that no one like to acknowledge is the homophobia and the misogyny of hiphop (and other music genres too, but this is Dr. Dre we’re talking about)
Marky mark/markWahlberg is in this boat as well – he produces shows like Entourage and Ballers that still epitomize that fantasy “Bro” lifestyle where women are merely accessories, . I know that you create what you know, but it’s pretty amazing how the “strong” women in the show came off as shrill and complaining– he does no female any favors with that
I’d be more inclined to believe that Dre’s a changed man if he didn’t have Eminem on his new album spitting verses about raping women. Yet again.
I am so incredibly tired of the misogyny in this world. Sometimes it just takes my breath away.
I think that it is important to approach from a place of compassion, but making excuses for violent behavior does absolutely nothing to reform an individual person. The most compassionate action is to place the onus of responsibility squarely on the abuser, to give them skills to process and manage their anger, to build empathy for others, and develop a support system of accountability. All of this requires that a person actually WANTS to change, of course. The payoff is that living with real integrity is the ultimate freedom, and the best gift we can give to ourselves. We all have to live in our own skin.
Had he ever reached out privately and apologised I would think he’s sorry and felt it great enough to be compelled to apologise. It’s not an easy thing for some to do. To admit fault. Or to open old and painful memories. To own your actions and not excuse them by some other means. IF he did this (and im not seeing he did) I would believe he was sorry, is sorry, and expressed that to those he harmed.
Here, it was something he had to address. And while he likely regrets his actions at that time it wasn’t great enough that he couldn’t ignore it.
IMO if someone commits a violent crime on another and they aren’t remourseful enough to express how haunted they are by their former actions they aren’t really sorry. At worst they just remove themselves from even letting it concern them again.
As excuses go, its pretty well worded, I’ll give him that. And its really rare, but people do sometimes change, particularly if their circumstances change a lot, which his have. I suppose the kicker is, when did he last do something like this? Does anyone know when the last accusation was? If its all stuff that 15-20 years old, then he’s pretty credible.
I’m not saying this is the case, but if he had done something like this more recently, $$$$$ go a long way towards buying silence. I’d like to know what the catalyst was for him changing – did he attend counselling? Did he get some other professional help? Or did he just wake up one day and discover he was a changed man? If it’s a case of the latter then I’m a Chinese Astronaut.
In my own personal experience , I have found that people don’t change all THAT much, sorry- they are just better at hiding who they are. Many times the abuser comes from a place of entitlement (among other things of course) , so with Dre its hard to say. I did read the story on Gawker and I felt so horrible for the woman/women. That wasn’t just assault that was attempted murder as far as I am concerned.
I agree with him that there is no excuse for what he did. I liked his apology, however, because he didn’t minimize the impact it had on the lives of his victims, or make excuses for it. If he truly hasn’t repeated this behavior for 25 years, then I believe he has changed.
This element of his life was completely scrubbed from the film, like it never happened. He had to acknowledge his acts, because of the Gawker article, not because he met it head on and owned it first.
He may have changed, but he is also a revisionist in the biopic.
Oh. Poop. Nobody is nice anymore. I miss my cat. He was so sweet and uncomplicated.
To be fair, they can’t include everything. But I agree it probably should’ve been included as it is a heavy part of NWA lore.
GNAT–
Speaking of your uncomplicated cat, may he rest in peace, was he the same one from the anecdote you once posted about a cat who was so lazy that he just put one leg in the litter box and looked at you like “what”? I’ve honestly been curious about that for like a week, so I’m glad you brought the sweet boy into the conversation.
Yes, Shambles, that was him. He was so much fun. I really miss him. He loved a certain kind of treat that he was supposed to have in very small amounts because he had diabetes. I would give him one kind of diabetes treat, and he would just blink at me. Try another. Blink. Then I’d pick up the bag with the kind he loved and he’d turn a circle. Every time, like “that’s what I’m talkin’ about!” I loved him so much. If only people could be so sweet. Thanks for remembering about him.
GNAT I was hoping for redemption, too. Sorry to hear it seems unlikely here. I met Sister Helen Prejean a while back–her commitment to the idea that even the most troubled, violent people have the capacity for redemption is something I’d so love to believe.
So sorry to hear about your cat. I still miss my childhood cat even decades later. No one sweeter.
So he puts a blanket apology out on a public forum. Did he, at any one time before this, apologize directly, in person, and sincerely to the women he hurt? Because that’s who he needs to apologize to, not some faceless, marketable mass.
True.
I do think people can change and that we shouldn’t forever be judged by our pasts…but I feel about this the way I feel about Jon Hamm assaulting the guy in college: an apology doesn’t begin to make up for what happened.
It’s not enough, because they never faced any consequences, while the people they hurt have had to deal with it all these years.
“because they never faced any consequences, while the people they hurt have had to deal with it all these years”
Exactly. They still have the power and the privilege that led to this brutality in the first place — much more of it, actually, and they have the knowledge that they got away with it. That’s not a good combination.
Plus, he doesn’t do anything to help abused women and he never has. No charities, no public awareness, NOTHING. And Dee Barnes can’t get a job in the industry and he doesn’t do anything to help her. People are scared to piss him off, so she doesn’t get hired, and he COULD change that, and doesn’t.
There’s no excuse, trying to make excuses shows he hasn’t changed. Normal men don’t beat women because they’re drinking too much or because they have no structure in their lives. The fact that he claimed that shows he’s still the same.
A reformed violent man would understand where the violence came from and explain why they behaved violently (learned in the home usually, never taught how to behave and communicate appropriately, never taught respect for others), how they realised they were wrong and to regret the harm they were causing, what they did to learn how to behave properly. If he was reformed he would have already contacted past victims to apologise and in his privileged position, offer restitution to show remorse.
This statement is pr bs designed to protect his business interests. He has no genuine remorse, he does not care for the impact his actions had on others and I would bet anything he’s still doing it. Only now he’s rich and can get away with it.
+1 mill
Abusive men always deflect and blame their violence on other factors. Truly mature people who have remorse acknowledge that they have anger and self-esteem issues and do not make excuses. He also never apologized to the women themselves. Is anyone else getting sick of Hollywood protecting abusive men and the overall sexism in general? No one pays attention to these women’s stories until a man somehow involved or affected (ie Cosby/Sheen/Polanski/Woody) and I am soooooo sick of it. I boycotted their stupid watered down film.
I respectively disagree and here is why; some people’s genetic makeup makes it so they can’t metabolize alcohol. Their liver enzymes are different. They blackout or get violent. Total opposite of their sober selves. It’s legal in the US but it takes many a years for some to realize they can’t drink as others do
Perhaps it’s a good argument to legalize weed. Alcohol really doesn’t sit right with POC
Especially Americans (many whom have no idea of their true DNA)
Nordics, inuits, east asians and every native group in North America. Justin Bieber prime example. Since Dre is probably every race and nationality under our Sun
…gonna give him a pass. Bet he’s partially lactose intolerant as well but doesn’t realize it. If you or someone you know turns into an a hole while drinking, then it’s time to get on that DNA test, especially to break the cycle in families.
These generic apologies to the mass public are lame and add insult to injury. If he’s really sorry to the women he hurt, he would be spending every day of his life making it up to them.
Ooh. I do NOT like the body language between him and his wife. She looks braced when his arms are around her, doesn’t she? Men who are raised to be violent to women look for women who were raised by violent men. I am reading a fascinating book on the dynamic of abuse on women in families.
Interesting observation. Does the book also look at non-physical abuse, emotional and psychological abuse?
It doesn’t get as much attention but the damage is severe because people don’t even realize it’s abuse. And then it continues in the next generation….
It’s possible he’s no longer as physically abusive as he was but is still abusive.
It is a story of both physical and physiological abuse by the father in an Indian American family. It is written as fiction, but the author is very well versed in the subtleties.
I get the same vibe from her pose. Also, her décolletage looks strained, as if she’s breathing in, like what you do if you’re panicked.
I’m extremely intuitive (gifted) and get feelings about people by looking at photos; with him, I feel unease. He’s a nasty piece of work.
Exactly. She is not relaxing back into his embrace, which is what you would expect to see in a warm loving relationship, but rather holding herself stiff as a board, with her chin tucked (which protects the neck). Very concerning, really. 19 years? Yikes.
Hmmmmm, yeah she does look really tense. The way he’s holding her looks possessive and domineering.
^haha^ I love u Jorts-kitten, u are full of surprises! I was wondering where the smart jorts came from.
I thought it was just me who thought that. I hope the woman is okay, I really do.
If the apology came out a while ago, before his lucrative Apple contract and the film, I think it would be a bit more credible. This seems like a corporate decision (along with the Apple statement) rather than a personal one.
I’m Facebook friends with Tairre B. (Murphy), another woman that Dre beat up (punched her twice in the face at the Grammy awards). this is what she had to say about his apology (and frankly I think the women involved’s voices are the ones that should be heard):
Tairrie B. Murphy
August 22 at 12:28pm ·
Yesterday The New York Times asked me to give a statement in response to this. Here is what I said:
“Being that Dr Dre has been so dismissive of his past violent behavior towards women, I’m glad to see he is finally addressing the assaults. That said, I think it would have had a greater impact, had he mentioned the women he attacked by name, especially Dee Barnes. It took a lot of courage for her to tell her story and relive the events in such horrific detail 25 years later. I applaud her for this, as do many. Had the public not been so vocal in questioning why these assaults were not referenced in Straight Outta Compton, this part of the story would have continued to remain in the dark along with the others. I understand there are time constraints when making a film but when doing a biopic (of this nature in particular) the good, the bad and the ugly are all part of the history. Straight Outta Compton was directed by F Gary Gray, who was the original cameraman on both TV interviews that lead to the attack on Dee not to mention the fact that the film’s co-producers, Dr Dre & Ice Cube were the main catalysts behind it. As a group, NWA were very vocal about their feelings on it back in the day so there was a direct correlation. This should not have been ignored.” – Tairrie B. Murphy
Good post.
Like she said, the movie was produced by Dre and Ice. It wasn’t time constraints. They were very involved over protecting their image in the movie. His violence towards women was never going to be addressed because of that. He would never have allowed it.
Thank you for publishing Tairrie’s comments here. Great post from her. I do hope that Dee’s book gets published as well.
She’s a delightful woman and I really respect how she’s handled all this.
^^thanks for this. I think people can change and grow. They can get older and wiser. That being said..I have a very hard time accepting that abusers of women can just stop the pathology of domestic abuse that is part of the way they think of and respond to the ladies in their lives.
Thanks Blonde one for that post. It clearly stated what I’ve been thinking for years. I was in my early twenties when this happened and I remember being horrified by what had happened. NWA had some serious cred regarding their experiences in Compton and part of that cred kind of led to excusing a large amount of their misogynistic/violent behavior towards women. I remember Dee Barnes appeared on a few newsfeeds after the incident (her hair shaved short because he’d pulled some of it by the roots)– it was awful and futile. It seemed that while they gave her some airtime, no one was really listening to her or empathizing with her because 1. She was a woman and 2. She was a woman socializing in the world of Hip-hop so this what happened to her was to be expected.–I haven’t listened to anything by them or Suge Knight since. The attack was damaging enough & I think in some ways Dre has changed, we all do, but I am certain this has stayed with him (even though he hoped it would go away), but until he makes some sort of real amends (like they do in twelve steps) he’ll never be truly sorry, and I don’t think Dee will every truly heal
Nope. Get outta here with this. He only put this out here because he’s getting heat. Dude needs to protect his brand and Apple needs to protect their investment.
Frankly no different than the hypocrisy of that cheating Christian guy or josh duggar. It’s a different play on the “I’ve been forgiven by God so move along folks” nonsense. He committed this awful violent attack out in the open. Imagine what he did in private. He’s trying to get ahead of a bill Cosby type situation.
Nope. Guess what you committed the crime now deal with the consequences. I have no qualms about using shame to deal with abusers whatsoever. Cosby, Allen, Penn, Polanski, etc.
Dr. Dre: ‘I apologize to the women I’ve hurt. I deeply regret what I did’
….Because it’s now hurting my Bottom Line – ya’ll forgot this part of his sincere heartfelt apology to us not the women he beat
Exactly. And I am not buying that he has changed. At. All.
My teenage cousins were raving about the film, so my aunt sat their asses down and read them the actual lyrics from One Less Bitch and A Bitch Iz a Bitch. She also schooled them on Michele and Dee Barnes. Bless ’em, because they changed their minds immediately and said it makes Weezy sound like a feminist studies professor. They had no clue it was that bad, even after watching the film.
I’m happy that a film with POC leads is kicking ass at the box office and crushing everything, even big budget The Man From Uncle. I’m depressed that it is this particular sanitized film.
This ^ Why not apologize and make that statement before hand. Was he not this change man a year ago, two years ago or three? Or did he just wake up last week a “new” man.
QQ-this too, my friend. He got a bite of Apple pie, and I’m sure he wants seconds.
If you believe this apology plese enter your Apple ID and password and click Accept.
LOL!
So he acknowledged his past without apologizing in his portion of the rolling stone interview:
“I made some f–king horrible mistakes in my life. I was young, f–king 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–ked up. But I paid for those mistakes, and there’s no way in hell that I will ever make another mistake like that again.”
Then, the Dee Barnes essay came out, where the assault was described in detail, and it was noted that all of this was left out of the movie. Then the actual cut script was leaked where it was supposed to be addressed in the movie and was left out. Now Dre makes this statement.
I felt like he took responsibility in the rolling stone interview. He didn’t blame anyone else for what happened. Now he’s actually apologizing for what he did, and again, not really making excuses (I could have done without his first sentence). While I understand the sentiment “I’m sorry isn’t enough” I have to ask, what would be enough at this point?
I am honestly more disturbed by Ice Cube’s statements in the RS interview that Dre’s.
“But I paid for those mistakes”
How did he pay for the ‘mistakes’ of beating up women? He seems to be sitting rather pretty financially. I never heard that he was sent to jail or prison for the assaults, have I missed something? Did he pay restitution to those he beat to a pulp?
I’m not saying people can’t have regret and change, but he was very nonspecific in that interview.
If you want society to acknowledge police brutality and FACE IT, straight on, how do you then not face your own brutality, straight on, in that same narrative?
I completely agree that it should have been addressed in the movie– no argument from me on that one. I question whether all of them (not just Dre–he seems like he’s probably the most self-aware of all of them) understand the cycle of oppression and how THEY oppressed women and their own hand in that cycle.
I know he did settle with Dee Barnes out of court (she addressed it in her essay). Whether he was charged criminally, I’m not sure. But if he wasn’t, or if she dropped the charges as part of the settlement, again, I’m not sure what more HE is supposed to do.
My only point is, what can he do, really, that would make everyone say “yup he’s changed.” I really don’t think he can do anything and he knows that.
@ lem
I really don’t think their is anything he can do, but he shouldn’t be looking for validation from the public. If he truly change then all of this worldn’t be coming out after/before his movie or deal with Apple. He should apologize and make amends to the women he abused privately, years ago which it seems like he hasn’t done.
My issue with Dre is that while I can separate the art from the artist, so many of the N.W.A. songs have a sickening misogyny that makes other rappers (even gangsta rappers) look mild in comparison. When you combine that with Dre’s history, it’s hard to deal with. Check the lyrics for “One Less Bitch” (gang rape, murder, and misogyny) and “To Kill a Hooker.” The fact that they didn’t even include it in the film is ridiculous, because it was a big part of their history. I’d be more likely to believe his apology IF he included his history in the film.
TBH I feel like their “legend” has been sanitized, exaggerated, and glorified by the media, because a lot of WOC (including myself and people in my family) have issues with them. Public Enemy had a bigger impact and far more socially conscious songs. N.W.A. basically had F*ck tha Police, Straight Outta Compton, and Express Yourself but they also had members who died or maintained their fame (Dr. Dre and Ice Cube) so they are the ones getting a film. Plus, merchandising that has always sold.
I would have preferred a Public Enemy or Tupac biopic than this scrubbed clean version of N.W.A.
I love your post and couldn’t agree with it more. It makes me sick how much praise these assh-les are getting. I mean even all these years after the fact when these men claim to have grown up and matured, we just had Ice Cube telling Rolling Stone that unless women are actually bitches and hos, they have no reason to be offended by the use of those words in music.
There are so many other hip hop artists who have and continue to actually spread a positive message without being sappy or lame, these guys don’t deserve the praise they’re getting. These were angry men who did a lot of f-cked up shit that they’ve been granted a pass for and now they have a film out about their lives where they so obviously left out most of the bad stuff and people are going nuts with praise for them.
Completely agree with you that I would’ve much preferred to see a Public Enemy biopic. There is a Tupac biopic coming out in 2016 with the same guy who plays Tupac in the NWA movie playing him again.
I agree.
Show some leadership and role modelling and face it honestly.
Yes! Perfect post.
Agree with everything you say 100%.
Oh please. He doesn’t care and he’d do it again if he could get away with it.
Dre hasn’t changed, in my opinion. His wife just hides it like Michelle did in the past. He’s just worried about the money.
One thing that struck me watching the movie was the culture of oppression. You could see the cops oppressing the young black men, and their anger spilling out in turn onto the people in their lives. I can relate to that anger (like that scene where Cube takes a baseball bat to his label’s office? I so understand that anger) and while I appreciate that the movie takes the cops on, I wish they’d addressed the whole cycle more explicitly (I felt like you got hints).
I agree–it should’ve been dealt with b/c it would have better shown how that cycle went beyond their recognition and the lyrics in their music. I think the issue is that some of them even to this day don’t recognize the cycle and don’t want to take responsibility for perpetuating that cycle with their actions and their music.
The only thing he’s sincerely sorry about is this being in the news and him being forced to front up to it and make an apology.
He’s a thug – always has been; always will be. He can bleat on about his innocence and sell the dream to the masses all he likes but that isn’t going to change what he is. Yes, “some” people do change, but not him.
If his ‘associates’ weren’t scared of him, then the story that he – ‘allegedly’ stole Will.I.Am’s prototype and made it his own, would be fully investigated and published on a wide scale. But nobody wants to upset this thug, hence that’s why it just gets brushed under the carpet.
Also I think I give his apology some credibility because I do think that there’s a fairly high probability that his anger was part of that culture of violence/poverty/oppression (not saying necessarily–it could just be his personality too). I do think that when you leave that culture behind, you can break free of some of those aspects–SOME people can. Like when you leave a toxic environment, it’s a lot easier to leave toxic behaviors behind. You know? Like you get successful and all of a sudden you aren’t singing f* the police anymore. Mainly because that just isn’t your experience anymore, for the most part. I’m not sure if I’m being clear here but my point is that I entertain this explanation more from someone like him with his background that someone like, say, Donald Trump. (And I’m not in any way defending Dre’s behavior).
I don’t disagree. Violence creates more violence. But there seems to have been no attempt at self reflection on this issue.
Has he ever served any day in jail for those assaults?
Doctor, doctor, I need a doctor….loved that song. I think his victims would have been more appreciative of a special Hallmark card that they could have put in with their linens and lavender sachet.
Call me crazy, and I know this post might get pummeled for being judgy, but I can’t understand why women are supporting this trash movie. I saw posters here saying they couldn’t wait to see it. “A Bitch Iz a Bitch” has long been regarded as one of the most misogynistic songs ever, and we can’t forget the other ones such as, “To Kill a Hooker” and “One Less Bitch.” Maybe the thought is “they’re not talking about me, so it’s OK” but I just don’t get that. It’s not even like these guys rapped about things they didn’t really believe in, they all actually acted out against women at one point or another.
All these years later and the best Dre can do is come up with a lame apology to the world, not the women he actually beat the sh-t out of, and it’s only because he’s a business man now and Apple probably complained so he forced his lawyer or publicist to write something up. Let’s not even pretend that this apology is actually something Dre took the time to write out. This is besides the fact that Ice Cube’s dumb ass stands by the group’s misogyny, now a 46-year-old married father of four, stating in Rolling Stone that unless women are actually bitches and hos, they have no reason to be offended.
First of all, I understand everything that you’re saying and 100% respect where you’re coming from. You make many great points here.
That being said, I don’t think that women should feel obligated to avoid Straight Outta Compton any more than men should. If the motivation for banning this movie is to reinforce the idea that violence against women should not be rewarded then shouldn’t men be held responsible for this as well? Why does it always fall on women to impose the moral yardstick on society?
To add to that, I’m not sure that I think anybody should ban it based on how NWA treated women. Without having seen it, I cannot say whether it glorifies these men, but I think it’s ok to acknowledge what NWA accomplished in terms of bringing police brutality against blacks to the forefront of the public conscience. I think that’s separate from the other issue which is that they clearly didn’t (don’t?) value women and contributed to black-on-black violence in their own way. Were they mimicking the behavior that was modeled for them? I suspect that was part of it…and no, this doesn’t excuse what they did, but it poses an interesting and important question. If the movie generates even one worthwhile discussion about violence against women and how that fits into hip hop culture, and society at large, then I think that’s worthwhile in and of itself.
But mostly, the film is getting pretty decent reviews. I think a lot of people (like myself) just want to see a good hip-hop biopic, you know? I hope that doesn’t make me less of a feminist…or a traitor to my gender somehow.
It’s a pretty good apology but he’s still an awful person. My thoughts are with his victims.
Thank you for this. My thoughts are with his victims too. They’ve shown so much bravery in coming forward publicly.
He apologized for the dee Barnes incident many times before. Idk about the other ones but I remember him talking about her.
Apologized to who though? Did he apologize to Barnes personally and privately?
Those guys didn’t grow up in middle class, respectable homes. They grew up in the streets learning to be tough because they had to be to survive. They didn’t grow up being taught to respect life and respect all females. Just because they made a lot of money doesn’t mean they learned anything else along the way. In no way justifying abusive behavior, but I can understand that mentality. They are not going to announce to the world ‘hey, I used to beat women and I am sorry.’ They, along with everyone surrounding them, do everything they can to protect their image, which is getting harder for them to do with social media.
I was a victim of domestic abuse, which I believe is a widespread epidemic in our society. Unless Apple is involved in an intimate relationship with Dre, they really have no business commenting on whether he has “changed.” Frankly, their statement disgusts me because he is not the victim. I’m all for redemption, but I don’t need a multi-billion dollar company making apologies for him and thus perpetuating the already tolerant climate surrounding violence against women. The way they spun this statement makes light of a very serious crime. My thoughts are with his victims.
He’s PR sorry.