American rapper and former Fox television personality Dee Barnes has slammed the Grammys for honoring legendary producer Dr. Dre at the 2023 Grammy Awards, after claiming that the Compton rapper abused her back in 1991.
During the exclusive interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Barnes talked about Grammys’s decision to award Dre with the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award. As Barnes revealed, iconic hip-hop artist assaulted her at a record release party in Hollywood back in January 1991 after she hosted one of the episodes of Pump It Up!
“Everybody wants to separate the art from the artist, and sometimes that’s just not possible. 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.'” – Barnes said.
Then she continues: “He said it himself in the documentary The Defiant Ones: I’m a ‘blemish’ on who he is as a man. Well, what do you do with a blemish? There’s a whole industry created—skincare lines and vitamins and rituals—to get rid of blemishes,” she continued. “And, in a sense, there’s a whole network to keep me hidden.”
For the full interview of Dee Barnes, visit Rolling Stone magazine.
