It looks like Dr. Dre is trying to erase his volatile past of beating up women and keep his made up gangster super producer image in check. According to TMZ, the good Dr. and his lawyers filed a cease and desist order, advising Sony Pictures not release their biopic Surviving Compton: Dre, Suge & Michel’le. Dre seems a little peeved because the show will highlight his alleged abusive ways.
Surviving Compton: Dre, Suge & Michel’le is scheduled to air on Lifetime on October 15th. The biopic will detail the R&B singer’s relationship with both Dr. Dre and Suge Knight, who she has children by. The film is said to reinact Dr. Dre being physically and verbaly abusive and even striking Michel’le with closed fists. Dre, played by actor Curtis Hamilton, even pulls a gun on his son’s mother and allegedly tried to sleep with her after marrying his current wife Nicole.
TMZ reports, “Dre flatly denies ever abusing Michel’le. It makes reference to the fact that they dated around 30 years ago and she never hinted at abuse or any type of violent behavior on his part. They also say she never sought medical treatment or filed a police report.”
Dre’s past of beating women resurfaced in 2015 when this black spot on his record came back to light during the release of the NWA biopic Straight Outta Compton. Besides putting hands on Michel’le, he also beat down journalist and former rapper Dee Barnes in 1991 after she aired an interview with Ice Cube who had recently left NWA on her video show Pump It Up! According to Rolling Stone, Dre cornered Barnes in a nightclub and pummeled her to pieces.
“He picked her up by her hair and “began slamming her head and the right side of her body repeatedly against a brick wall near the stairway” as his bodyguard held off the crowd with a gun. After Dre tried to throw her down the stairs and failed, he began kicking her in the ribs and hands. She escaped and ran into the women’s rest room. Dre followed her and “grabbed her from behind by the hair again and proceeded to punch her in the back of the head.”
Dre’s PR team was in full gear when they had him spoke on his past with The New York Times in 2015 when he stated,
“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.”
Michel’le at the time wasn’t impressed with his apology and told BBC Radio 5,
“I don’t really think it’s a sincere apology,” adding that she “didn’t ask for a public apology” and thinks, “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.”
Dre may need to just own his past and let Surviving Compton: Dre, Suge & Michel’le rock. Will you be tuning in on October 15th on Lifetime as “Dre Day” continues?
Follow us on Twitter: @IceBlueVA @gripmagonline
