Michel’le Toussaint Tells Her Story In ‘Surviving Compton: Dre, Suge & Michel’le’

October 16, 2016 Kelly Daniels TV




Michel'le Toussaint Dr. Dre Relationship

Saturday night, many people sat down to watch Surviving Compton: Dre, Suge & Michel’le on Lifetime, which focused on Michel’le Toussaint, Dr. Dre, and Suge Knight.

As Dr. Dre reigned over Compton, California with Eazy-E and Ice Cube in the 1990s, he met Toussaint, an R&B singer with a childlike voice, who went by the name of Michel’le.

Like most love stories, things started off smooth as silk with Dr. Dre making his iconic west coast beats for Michel’le, who eventually landed a hit album with songs like “No More Lies,” “Nicety,” and “Something in My Heart.”

However, the love between the pair quickly turned violent and Dr. Dre allegedly abused Michel’le physically. The movie featured a very shocking scene where the actor playing the music maker was seen entering the studio, arguing with Michel’le, pushing her, giving her a black eye, and even pulling a gun on her.

The made for TV movie also touched on her marriage to Dre’s then-business partner and Death Row Records co-founder, Marion “Suge” Knight, and her spiral into drugs and alcohol.

Immediately after the film aired, social media lit on fire. People all over the world were shocked to learn that the man, who came up with monster hits like “Nuthin’ but a ‘G’ Thang,” “California Love” “Forgot About Dre” (with Eminem) and “The Next Episode” and the much-beloved headphones Beats by Dr. Dre might have abused a woman.

Many people want to start a petition to call on music lovers to boycott Dre’s company. Others want to know why didn’t Michel’le call the police and report the assaults. Moreover, few others are very disappointed and seemed confused about how they should separate the man from the music.

A handful of commenters are still supporting the music icon by saying that there are two sides to every story. In past interviews, Michel’le said that because of the abuse she suffered at the hands of the producer she became an addict. She recently told The Huffington Post:

“When you’re living in it, you can’t see it. But I couldn’t believe that I was really living like that. And it really resonated with me. Never did I wake up and ask Dre, ‘Why did you hit me?’”

Before the release of Straight Outta Compton in 2015, Dre issued a statement to The New York Times apologizing to the women he hurt in the past, but never mentioned them by name. Michel’le added:

“What doesn’t make sense is, why would you publicly apologize for beating women, and then turn around and say, ‘I didn’t beat a woman?’ That doesn’t make any sense to me, that’s an oxymoron… and you had the audacity to put it at the end of my credits,” she said. “You know, he had to get a lawyer to even remotely make me put that on there.”

The days leading to the premiere of Surviving Compton, Dre threatened to sue the maker of the film and Michel’le. At the end of Surviving Compton, there was a disclaimer, which read “Dr. Dre, through his attorney, denies abusing Michel’le and challenges her credibility.”

One thing is for sure, while people are debating on whether Dre is a woman beater or not, Michel’le is being hailed a hero for enduring all that pain and misery. She is being applauded for being a survivor, one strong woman, and a good mother.





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