Barnes, who caught a glimpse of the rap star's temper during a nightclub encounter after she published an interview with Dre's bandmate-turned-rival Ice Cube, told Gawker.com she didn't expect the incident to feature in Straight Outta Compton, but she was stunned when it wasn't even mentioned.

Dre has already briefly addressed the drama in a new Rolling Stone interview, stating, "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."

And now the rapper, who pleaded no contest to assaulting Barnes and received probation, has issued a formal apology to "the women I've hurt" in an exclusive statement to the New York Times.

He writes: "I deeply regret what I did and know that it has forever impacted all of our lives.

"Twenty-five years ago I was a young man drinking too much and in over my head with no real structure in my life. 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."

Meanwhile, Apple executives, who employed Dr. Dre as a consultant following their purchase of his multi-billion dollar Beats empire, have also issued a public statement on the subject of his violent past, adding, "Dre has apologized for the mistakes he's made in the past and he's said that he's not the same person that he was 25 years ago. We believe his sincerity and after working with him for a year and a half, we have every reason to believe that he has changed."

Dre tells Rolling Stone that 'change' began while he was serving five months behind bars in 1995 for driving his Ferrari drunk.

He explains, "I came out (of jail) literally a changed person. After my brother passed away, I had started boozing. When I got out of jail, I backed off of all of it... got married, just re-evaluated my whole life.

"My whole plan that I decided on in jail, I put that s**t into action."