Dr. Dre Apologizes for Abuse Allegations, Says "I Deeply Regret What I Did"

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Rapper and music producer Dr. Dre has apologized for his alleged past record of misogyny and abuse toward women, a controversy that resurfaced in light of the hype surrounding the release of Straight Outta Compton, a biopic about the 1980s Los Angeles rap group N.W.A. 

"I apologize to the women I've hurt," Dre, née Andre Young, told the New York Times in a statement. "I deeply regret what I did and know that it has forever impacted all of our lives." 

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However, Dre did not directly address the allegations against him, some of which date back decades. Rather, he spoke broadly about the allegations and said he has evolved over the years. 

"Twenty-five years ago I was a young man drinking too much and in over my head with no real structure in my life," the statement said. "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."

The New York Times reported the apology three days after Gawker published a piece by Dee Barnes who, in 1991, was brutally beaten by Dre at a record release party in Los Angeles. The encounter didn't appear in the film.  

"That event isn't depicted in Straight Outta Compton, but I don't think it should have been, either," Barnes wrote. "The truth is too ugly for a general audience. I didn't want to see a depiction of me getting beat up, just like I didn't want to see a depiction of Dre beating up Michel'le, his one-time girlfriend who recently summed up their relationship this way: 'I was just a quiet girlfriend who got beat on and told to sit down and shut up.'"

Dre has previously admitted that at least some of the allegations against him were true. "I made some fucking horrible mistakes in my life," Dre told Rolling Stone. "I was young, fucking stupid."