Dr. Dre, Michel'le Split - H 2015
AP ImagesDee Barnes and Michel’le, two women who’ve publicly alleged Dr. Dre attacked them in the past, have responded to his recent statement of apology to The New York Times.
In a conversation with the BBC Radio 5 Live, Michel’le said, “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,” she added. “Treat us like we have names.” The R&B singer added that she believes his motives to be transparent, because “it’s good PR at the moment” (with the recent release of N.W.A biopic Straight Outta Compton).
Barnes, in a follow-up essay on Gawker, accepted Dre’s apology, saying, “Who cares why he apologized? The point is that he did.” She then reiterated what it took to reach that apology, recounting how her experience had become an industry punchline for a number of MCs, including Dr. Dre protege Eminem.
“The hypocrisy of it all is appalling,” she says of the numerous people who have criticized her for speaking out (she filed charges soon after Dr. Dre beat her up in a club restroom). “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.”
Michel’le further details the abuse she endured during her six-year relationship with Dr. Dre in the interview, including incidents like the time she “baked him chicken and didn’t make enough. He beat me because I didn’t have another piece of chicken.”
As she puts it, “I don’t want this new generation to think that it’s okay. I’ve never stopped talking about it.”
Listen to the interview below:
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This article originally appeared on Billboard.com.
