Dr. Dre’s Ex Michel’le Rejects Abuse Apology: "I Just Don’t Think It’s Sincere. He’s Selling a Movie"
Photo by Natalie Kardos
Last week, Dr. Dre issued an apology to “the women I’ve hurt” in response to renewed public scrutiny of his history of physical abuse. Over the weekend, one of those women, his ex-fiancée Michel’le, responded to that apology in an interview an interview with the BBC’s Dotun Adebayo. She said Dre did not personally reach out to her before giving his statement.“I don’t really think it’s a sincere apology,” she said. “I didn’t ask for a public apology and I think if he is 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”
She added: “He’s selling a movie. I just think it’s good PR at the moment.”
Michel’le had previously spoken out about his violence during their relationship. Speaking about the recently released N.W.A biopic Straight Outta Compton, in which she does not appear, she said: “Why would Dre put me in it? If they start from where they start from, I was just a quiet girlfriend who got beat up and told to sit down and shut up.”
Update (8/24, 4:49 p.m.): Dee Barnes, who was assaulted by Dre in 1991, wrote a response to his apology for Gawker. “Is Dre himself really remorseful or just saving face?” she said. “To me, the answers to these questions matter less than the fact that Dre stepped up and performed his social responsibility by finally taking accountability for his actions. Who cares why he apologized? The point is that he did.”
Barnes discussed reports that an earlier draft of Straight Outta Compton included the incident where she was attacked—a retelling in which Dre is provoked by a drink Barnes throws in his face. “That is a fabrication intended to excuse his actions,” she said. Additionally, she talked about rappers who’ve used the incident as a joke—such as Eminem on “Guilty Conscience”—and said she’s speaking up to push back against the “clear and obvious” misogyny at hand. “This is bigger than me, and bigger than hip-hop,” she said. “This is about respect and awareness.”
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