*Dee Barnes, a longtime critic of Dr. Dre, has slammed the Recording Academy for naming a new Grammy award after the hip-hop music producer.
During the 2023 Grammys on Feb. 5, Dre received the inaugural Dr. Dre Global Impact Award for his “multitude of achievements through his innovative, multi-decade career.”
“Everybody wants to separate the art from the artist, and sometimes that’s just not possible,” said Barnes in a new interview with Rolling Stone. Over the years, the veteran music journalist has been publicly vocal about how the rapper physically assaulted her early in his career.
Barnes said the “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.”
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Barnes believes the music industry overlooks Dre’s history of abusing women.
“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,” Barnes told Rolling Stone.
“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,’” she said.
Barnes claims she was blacklisted in the industry after speaking out about being attacked by Dre in 1991 at a record release party in Hollywood.
“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 said. “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 incident.”
Barnes detailed her violent encounter with Dr. Dre in a Gawker op-ed.
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