|
Apple, which acquired Dr Dre's headphone and music streaming
company Beats Electronics last year for $3 billion and made Dre
an executive, said the company believed in the rapper's
sincerity.
"Dre has apologized for the mistakes he's made in the past and
he's said that he's not the same person that he was 25 years
ago," Apple said in a statement to Reuters.
"After working with him for a year and a half, we have every
reason to believe that he has changed."
Dr Dre, 50, a founding member of Compton rap collective N.W.A.,
the subject of Universal Pictures' box office hit "Straight
Outta Compton," apologized for his actions from 25 years ago,
which included an incident with female presenter Dee Barnes.
"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," the rapper, real name Andre Young, told the New
York Times on Friday.
Dr Dre said he has been married for 19 years and is "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," he added. "I deeply regret
what I did and know that it has forever impacted all of our
lives."
Dr Dre's representatives said he would not comment beyond the
statement sent exclusively to the New York Times.
The newspaper said Dr Dre pleaded no contest to assault and
battery charges in the incident involving Barnes and was
sentenced to probation and community service, while a civil suit
was settled out of court.
Barnes wrote an essay for Gawker this week in which she rehashed
details of the assault.
The incident was left out of the film that traced the origins of
N.W.A. and its members.
Two other women, R&B singer and Dr Dre's former girlfriend
Michel'le and musician Tairrie B, told the Times that they too
had been assaulted by the rapper in the past.
(Reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Mary Milliken)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
|
