Dr. Dre’s assault victim has spoken out in the wake of the legendary producer being honored with the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards on Sunday (February 5).
Dee Barnes, who was one of several women that have accused the producer of abuse in the past, sat down with Rolling Stone to reflect on her own experience with Dre, in which she claims the mogul beat her after an album release party at age 19 during her days hosting Pump It Up!, a Hip Hop show that ran from 1989 to 1991.
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Barnes had previously claimed in a 2015 op-ed for Gawker that Dre was furious about a clip she included in her show and smashed her head into a wall because of it.
A warrant was issued for Dre’s arrest on January 28, 1991, and he was charged with assault and battery. He pleaded no contest and settled for a $2,500 fine and a two-year probation sentence with community service.
In a newly published op-ed for Rolling Stone, Barnes said in the years since speaking out, she has been blacklisted in the industry and suffers harassment at her jobs now because of the incident.
“I shouldn’t have to suffer by not being able to exist in a space and in a culture that not only did I grow up in but that I contributed to in a major way,” she wrote. “Is this about his feelings? Is this about his legacy? Or is it about ego and toxic masculinity? What is it about? My whole history has been erased — as an artist, as a music journalist, and as a television host. All some people see is the [1991] incident.”
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She continued: “Whereas with him, it’s like, ‘Look at all the shiny stuff over here! Look, we’ve got awards, we’ve got schools, we’ve got headphones, we’ve got the Super Bowl, we’ve got productions, movies. Don’t look at that.'”
Elsewhere, Barnes wrote: “Most people without a knowledge of [Dr. Dre’s] history are going to say, ‘Oh, he must deserve that. He must be such a great person for them to put an award in his name.’ But they named this award after an abuser. It wasn’t just a one or two-time thing; these are choices. The first time, it’s maybe a mistake. The second time, okay. The third time, it’s a choice.
“I’m not saying he is the same person now, though. I don’t know. I’m not around him anymore. I haven’t talked to him. But to name an award after someone with that type of history in the music industry, you might as well call it the ‘Ike Turner Award.'”
The Dr. Dre Global Impact Award was created in partnership with the Recording Academy’s Black Music Collective and “recognizes the contributors, creatives and professionals with a proven track record of uplifting Black music.”
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“I’m extremely moved by this award,” Dre said during his acceptance speech on Sunday (February 5). “I want to say thank you to the Recording Academy and the Black Music Collective for this honor, and I know everybody in here probably knows this already, but this is the 50th anniversary of Hip Hop. Make some noise for Hip Hop!”
He added: “Where would I be without it? Where would a lot of people be without Hip Hop, to be honest?”
