?Surviving Compton? aired this past weekend on Lifetime and got mixed reactions.
The story is about Michel’le Toussant and her abusive relationships with both Dr. Dre and Suge Knight.
The one-time R&B star (1989?s ?No More Lies?) dated Dr. Dre in the early 1990s, when he and N.W.A. were on the road to stardom. ?The couple lived together and?had a son in 1991. ?Oddly enough, Michel’le later married Dre’s Death Row Records counterpart, Suge Knight, with whom she had a daughter in 2002 (they divorced in 2005).
[FLASHBACK: Michel’le Get’s ‘Nicety’ With Suge Knight in Child Support Case… ]
Michel?le was signed to N.W.A. member Eazy-E?s Ruthless Records, and Dre produced her album but she conspicuously absent from last year?s hit film ?Straight Outta Compton?… and now we know why!
In case you missed it, watch ‘Surviving Compton:?Dre, Suge & Michel?le’ below…
Michel?le has been very public about?how Dr. Dre abused her, and in ?Surviving Compton,? he is seen violently attacking her character (played by Rhyon Nicole Brown) several times and pulling a gun on her.
?In the beginning it re-opened wounds,? Michel?le said of the movie, which she was heavily involved with as a producer.
?People always think that domestic abuse is something that you live with and get over. But no. You have mental scars. I didn?t realize how I wasn?t over it.
The singer continues:
?This is no joke,? she said.
?I would never want anyone to live this life. I?m watching myself, when I watched them portray me and Dr. Dre and it touched me in different way? it was a very eye-opening experience.
I didn?t see it that way [at the time]. I thought it was just normal for me.?
Meanwhile,?Dr. Dre has reportedly sent warning letters to Sony Pictures TV (which produced the film with Thinkfactory) and Lifetime threatening to sue if he’s portrayed negatively, but his actions were clearly in vain.
The network stands by the production and Michel’le is standing by her story, stating, ‘I was there. I know what I went through”.
Eazy E knows too…
Eazy E warned Us about Dr. Dre 💯#SurvivingCompton pic.twitter.com/jn7IUyNSHx
? DeMarko Gage 🙂 (@DeMarko_Gage) October 16, 2016
The tweets have gone wild after airing of Michel’le’s biopic and many are calling Dr. Dre the ‘new’ Ike Turner…
As for appearing in the film, Michel?le reportedly resisted the idea at first, but eventually liked the idea of speaking personally to a new generation of women.?The singer appears throughout the movie in confessionals to react to some of the action, she also ?recorded all of the music in the film, which was then lip-synched by Brown.
At the end of the film, Michel’le sings a deeply personal ballad about how she survived the abuse and lived to tell her story.
The movie is dedicated to Jerry Heller, who passed away earlier this year.