Dr. Dre Apologizes to "the Women I've Hurt" After 3 Accusers Speak Out Following Straight Outta Compton Release

Critics cite how the N.W.A. biopic, which made more than $80 million in a week and which the rapper co-produced, made no mention of decades-old allegations that he abused women physically

Dr. Dre has issued a public apology to the women he says he "hurt" decades ago after three accusers spoke out publicly following the release of Straight Outta Compton, a biopic he co-produced about his former hip-hop group, N.W.A.

The movie has made more than $80 million since it was released exactly one week ago. Gawker had pointed out how it makes no mention of decades-old allegations that the rapper, now a married father, abused some women physically when he was a member.

"Twenty-five years ago I was a young man drinking too much and in over my head with no real structure in my life," Dr. Dre said in a statement to The New York Times on Friday. "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."

"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."

The accusers are Dr. Dre's ex-girlfriend and R&B singer Michel'le Toussaint, with whom he shares an adult son, rapper Tairrie B and hip-hop journalist Dee Barnes, who earlier this week penned a personal essay about her experience in Gawker, titled, "Here's What's Missing From Straight Outta Compton: Me and the Other Women Dr. Dre Beat Up."

"Why would Dre put me in it?" Toussaint told VladTV in an interview posted on Monday. "I was just a quiet girlfriend who got beat up and told to sit down and shut up."

According to The Los Angeles Times, an earlier draft of a Straight Outta Compton script depicted an altercation between the rapper and Barnes. Dr. Dre pleaded no contest to assault and battery in the 1991 incident and received no jail time. Toussaint and Tairrie B never pressed charges against him.

The women have been tweeting about Dr. Dre and Straight Outta Compton lately. On Wednesday, Tairrie B called him a "serial abuser." Barnes said on Twitter on Friday that the rapper has not apologized to her personally.

He had last week told Rolling Stone, regarding the abuse allegations, "I made some f--king horrible mistakes in my life. I was young, f--king 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 f--ked up. But I paid for those mistakes, and there's no way in hell that I will ever make another mistake like that again."