Apple’s Jimmy Iovine, Tim Cook,
Dr. Dre, and Eddy Cue (left to right)
Posted on 08/21/2015 12:59:39 PM PDT by Swordmaker
In a sign that the uproar was threatening not only his reputation but also his business dealings, Dr. Dre, who has previously spoken dismissively or vaguely about the allegations [including criminal charges, that Dr. Dre physically abused women], which are decades old, confronted them on Friday in a statement to The New York Times,” Joe Coscarelli reports for The New York Times. “While he did not address each allegation individually, 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.’ He added: ‘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.'”
“Apple, where Dr. Dre, 50, now works as a top consultant, also issued a statement: ‘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,'” Coscarelli reports. “In interviews with The Times this week, the women at the center of the allegations — the hip-hop journalist Dee Barnes; Michel’le, an R&B singer and Dr. Dre’s former girlfriend; and Tairrie B, a onetime labelmate — spoke about the abuse.”
I’ve been talking about my abuse for many, many years, but it has not gotten any ears until now,’ said Michel’le, who was romantically involved with Dr. Dre from the late-’80s until the mid-’90s. (They have an adult son),” Coscarelli reports. “During that time, she said, he was often physically abusive, hitting her with a closed fist and leaving ‘black eyes, a cracked rib and scars.’ Michel’le said she never pressed charges because, ‘We don’t get that kind of education in my culture.’ She added, ‘Opening up and finding out there were other women like me gave me the power to speak up.’ Tairrie B (her real name is Theresa Murphy) said that Dr. Dre punched her twice in the face at a Grammys after-party in 1990 after she recorded a track insulting him.”
“At a panel for ‘Straight Outta Compton’ this month, the film’s director, F. Gary Gray, was asked why the film omitted Ms. Barnes’s story, in which Dr. Dre confronted her at a party in 1991 about an N.W.A. segment on her Fox show ‘Pump It Up!'” Coscarelli reports. “According to a statement Ms. Barnes issued at the time, Dr. Dre began punching her in the head and “slamming her face and the right side of her body repeatedly against a wall.” (Charged with assault and battery, he pleaded no contest. He was sentenced to community service and probation, fined $2,500 and ordered to make a domestic violence P.S.A.; a civil suit was settled out of court.) Since the attack, Ms. Barnes said that she has had trouble finding work in the entertainment industry: ‘His career continued, where mine dwindled. People side with the money.'”
Read more in the full article in the New York Times here.
Oh yes, the charges are “decades old,” so they don’t count.
Why in the world does Apple (or any tech company) need someone like Dr. Dre as a consultant? What can he possibly contribute?
If you want on or off the Mac Ping List, Freepmail me.
He's not just a "consultant" but came with his company "Beats Headphones" when Apple bought it. . . and he's Apple VP along with Jimmy Iovine of Apple Music, both major divisions in Apple. His contract with the sale of his company, Beats, for multiple billions required his position.
I can’t believe that the biggest movie in America is a movie about gang members singing rap, and glorifying all that is bad about ghetto life.
Bla, bla, bla, spin, spin, spin...
Oh, OK, that makes sense.
Where do you think he got the name “Beats” for his headphone and music businesses? /S
I think what we see here is the culture of the American black community at work. . . and the gangsta rap sub-culture at its worst of denigration of women.
That does not mean that people cannot change. Whether Dr. Dre has or has not, I have no clue. He says he has, and the people working with him for a year-and-a-half say he has.
He has a lot more to lose and he lives in an entirely different culture now. The question remains can you take the gangsta rapper out of the man 20 years later? How ingrained is that culture? Will he regress to that misogynist attitude that allowed him to club women he claimed to love with his fist and break their ribs? I have no clue. He was charged and convicted of these crimes 25 years ago and also sued civilly and paid for them then. . . for those who brought charges and had the gumption to sue him.
Did they get sufficient justice? You tell me. . .
No that's funny. . .
A direct racist appeal to Black America
Along with a “but hey, we celebrate ‘diversity’” when Jesse or NAACP come a-callin’
Well played— haha
RE: Why in the world does Apple (or any tech company) need someone like Dr. Dre as a consultant? What can he possibly contribute?
I agree
Dr. Dre, when did you stop beating your wife (and other women)?
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