Compton rapper and producer denies portrayal as abusive and violent.

Ahead of the release of the Lifetime biopic Surviving Compton: Dre, Suge & Michel’le, TMZ claims that Dr. Dre’s legal team has issued a cease and desist letter threatening Sony Pictures with a lawsuit should the movie air unchanged.

Surviving Compton was announced earlier this year as a counterpoint to the Straight Outta Compton biopic. The movie, scheduled to air on the made-for-TV drama and biopic channel Lifetime, aims to show a different side of the N.W.A and Ruthless Records story including the abuse Michel’le suffered at the hands of Dre and her following affair with Suge Knight. The trailer for the movie showed a scene where Dre grabbed Michel’le by the throat after she messed up a take.

Claims of abuse and violence from a young Dr. Dre and their omission from the N.W.A movie were brought to light in the run up to the movie’s release by journalist Dee Barnes. In an essay for Gawker, Barnes recounted her own experience of Dre’s violent side and her theory as to why these stories were kept out of the movie. Eventually, Dre spoke to The New York Times and apologised to the women he’d hurt, though didn’t name any of them specifically.

The letter states that Dre denies ever abusing Michel’le and says they dated 30 years ago – the two have a son together – but that the singer never hinted at abuse or any type of violent behaviour on Dre’s part. The legal team also states Michel’le never sought medical treatment nor filed a police report.

Read next: Forgot about T.H.E.M.: Revisiting Dr. Dre’s forgotten protégés

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