Apple has taken the unexpected decision to defend Dr. Dre after the rapper-cum-entrepreneur publicly apologised for subjecting a number of women to brutal violence in the early 1990s.
One of those women was journalist Dee Barnes.
She alleges that in January 1991, angered by an interview Barnes had recently conducted with Ice Cube, Dre attempted to throw her down some stairs before slamming her head into a nightclub wall.
Dre later told Rolling Stone, “It ain’t no big thing – I just threw her through a door.”
Barnes, noting that the incident was not referenced in the new NWA biopic Straight Outta Compton, wrote on Gawker last week: “People have accused me of holding onto the past; I’m not holding onto the past.
‘I have a souvenir that I never wanted. The past holds onto me.”
“I APOLOGIZE TO THE WOMEN I’VE HURT. I DEEPLY REGRET WHAT I DID.”
DR DRE
Dre also allegedly punched former label-mate Tairrie B twice at a Grammys party in 1990 and gave a black eye and cracked ribs to his then-partner Michel’le.
In a new statement given to the New York Times regarding the incidents, Dre 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.”
“AFTER WORKING WITH [DRE] FOR A YEAR-AND-A-HALF, WE HAVE EVERY REASON TO BELIEVE HE HAS CHANGED.”
APPLE STATEMENT
Apple release its own statement following Dre’s apology.
Since the Cupertino giant acquired Beats for $3 billion last year, Dre has been an employee of the company, and a central figure in the creation and promotion of Apple Music.
The firm said: “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.”
Dr. Dre’s new album Compton, initially launched as an Apple Music exclusive, topped charts around the world last week.
