Dr. Dre Says Racism Explains Therapist's Move

The therapist who alleges Dr. Dre unleashed a barrage of harassment that left him "in constant fear" for his life has been denied a restraining order against his former client. Dr. Charles Sophy requested a temporary restraining order on Oct. 11, two days after filing a $10 million lawsuit in which he claimed Dre terrorized him, including by sending fake FBI agents to his home. The order was granted "on a provisional basis," but Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Melanie Ochoa terminated it on Tuesday while denying Sophy's request for a permanent order, per Rolling Stone. She said the therapist "did not sustain the applicable burden of proof." Lawyers for Dre, who reported Sophy to a medical board in 2023, alleged there was racism behind the request.

Dre (Andre Young) testified remotely at the hearing, denying that he sent people to intimidate Sophy. The music mogul admitted to sending some but not all of the texts described in Sophy's suit, saying they were "unsuccessful attempts" to have the therapist who mediated Dre's 2020 divorce from wife Nicole Young explain why he allegedly "attempted to poison my relationship with my son, including by urging him to disclose my financial records to the media as part of his attempts to pressure me into settling my divorce on unfair terms." In a Monday filing opposing the restraining order, Dre's lawyer, Howard E. King, argued Sophy's "proof" that he feels emotional distress "consists entirely of invoking the racist caricature that depicts Black men, like Young, as inherently violent."

He cited a police report in which Sophy said he was "concerned for his safety because of recent events involving P. Diddy" and "the violent behavior of Young's friends." King said the link was inexplicable and that there was no evidence of Young's friends behaving violently "to Sophy or anyone else." Sophy's lawyer, Christopher Frost, denies the "ugly and unfair claims of racism" to Rolling Stone, adding "Dr. Sophy's fear for his safety and the damages he has suffered are very real, more so now" that the temporary restraining order has been lifted. As the case was dismissed without prejudice, Sophy can refile his claims in a new lawsuit, per USA Today. Frost notes he will "continue to vigorously pursue the lawsuit." (More Dr. Dre stories.)