Dee Barnes, the journalist rapper Dr. Dre violently attacked at a Los Angeles nightclub in 1991, has responded to the public apology Dre issued in a statement to the New York Times.
“Twenty-five years ago I was a young man drinking too much and in over my head with no real structure in my life,” Dre wrote. “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 apologise to the women I've hurt. I deeply regret what I did and know that it has forever impacted all of our lives,” he said later.
In a new piece for Gawker, Barnes condemned not only Dr. Dre's actions, but the public who refused to hold him accountable for it for so many years. She noted that the assault, which left her with perpetual migraines and ringing in her ears, was often dismissed as a joke. In her essay, Barnes links to an unbelievably long list of songs that reference Dre's attack on her, including the Eminem single “Guilty Conscious,” which Dre produced. But she also said she was glad to bid adieu to the man who boasted without remorse about beating her in a club bathroom.
It seems Barnes is willing to accept Dre's words on their face. Astutely summing up skepticism about Dre's apology, Barnes wrote:
“Is this a PR move by Universal, which released 'Straight Outta Compton'? After all, the film just crossed the $100 million mark its second weekend in theaters. Is it damage control by Apple, which can no longer ignore that if you take the 'Beats by Dre' logo and remove the “S,” you get a double entendre describing several woman he just apologised to? Is Dre himself really remorseful or just saving face? To me, the answers to these questions matter less in the fact that Dre stepped up and performed his social responsibility by finally taking accountability for his actions. Who cares why he apologised? The point is that he did.”
Barnes concluded by reiterating that women who are victims of domestic abuse should not be shamed into silence:
“This is bigger than me, and bigger than hip-hop. This is about respect and awareness. As a result of speaking on my personal experience with violence, I have been vilified. Women survivors of violence are expected neither to be seen nor heard, and the pressure increases when it involves celebrities. No one wants to see their heroes criticised. And if they are African-American, the community at large becomes suspicious of an underlying motive to tear down a successful black man. Excusing pop culture icons from scrutiny over their history of violence against women because they are elevated to 'hero' status is wrong on so many levels. Creating notable, brilliant art does not absolve you of your faults.”
Michel'le, the singer who Dre dated for nearly seven years and with whom he shares an adult son, responded to the apology as well in an interview with Dotun Adebayo on the BBC radio show “Up All Night.”
Michel'le has stated publicly that Dre repeatedly subjected her to physical abuse. She said she didn't think the statement was sincere.
“He's selling a movie,” Michel'le told Adebayo. “I just think its good PR at the moment.”
“I didn't ask for a public apology and I think if he is going to apologise he should do it individually,” she continued. “To just group us like we are nothing and nobody — I just don't think it's sincere. Treat us like we have names.”
Washington Post-Bloomberg