Dr. Dre Reportedly Threatens Lawsuit Over Upcoming Michel'le Biopic
An upcoming film about former singer/reality TV star Michel'le presents her former boyfriend Dr. Dre in an unflattering light, and the producer/mogul is reportedly threatening legal action.
Lifetime is set to premiere the biopic Surviving Compton: Suge, Dre and Michel'le on Oct. 15. The singer has alleged that Dre was physically abusive to her during their romantic relationship in the 90s, when she was an up-and-coming singer and he was blowing up as a member of N.W.A. and a successful solo artist.
But TMZ reports that Dr. Dre's legal team has sent a cease-and-desist form to Sony Pictures, threatening legal action if the film is released. According to TMZ's story, the letter denies that Dre ever abused Michel'le in the first place.
Michel'le's allegations against Dr. Dre were given new life upon the release of the N.W.A. biopic Straight Outta Compton. The film was generally well-reviewed, with an 87 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but it was also criticized for dodging Dre's allegations of domestic violence against Michel'le, Dee Barnes and other women.
Around the time of the movie's release, Michel'le gave multiple interviews speaking about the abuse. While some may know her for her Billboard Top 10 song "No Lies" or her role on R&B Divas: Los Angeles, she says she was taking beatings from Dre during their relationship 30 years ago.
“I had five black eyes, I have a cracked rib, I have scars that are just amazing. It was normal. Everybody that knew, it was the norm,” she said in an interview with The Breakfast Club. “When he gave me my very first black eye, we laid in the bed and cried. He was crying and I was crying because I was in shock, hurt and in pain. I don’t know why he was crying, but he said ‘I’m really sorry.’ And he said, ‘I’ll never hit you in that eye again, okay?’”
Michel'le has said that her exclusion from Straight Outta Compton helped open opportunities for her to tell her own story in Surviving Compton. She doesn't play herself, but Huffington Post reports that she narrates the film.
Dr. Dre released a statement during the weekend of the movie's release, addressing his past of domestic violence without naming specific victims of his abuse.
"I made some fucking horrible mistakes in my life," says Dre. "I was young, fucking stupid. I would say all the allegations aren't true – some of them are. Those are some of the things that I would like to take back. It was really fucked up. But I paid for those mistakes, and there's no way in hell that I will ever make another mistake like that again."
Michel'le noted his public apology, but said that Dre has never apologized to her personally with a phone call.
“I just think he did a general apology because he had a movie out, and he’s got a brand and that’s what you do. I’m not mad at him. If he feels free with that, then that’s good. I don’t know if Dee Barnes took it to heart,” she told Huffington Post. The new film Surviving Compton even features a statement from Dr. Dre in the closing credits where he disputes abusing her at all.
“What doesn’t make sense is, why would you publicly apologize for beating women, and then turn around and say, ‘I didn’t beat a woman?’ That doesn’t make any sense to me, that’s an oxymoron… and you had the audacity to put it at the end of my credits,” she said. “You know, he had to get a lawyer to even remotely make me put that on there.”
