Dr. Dre sued for $10 million by former therapist alleging 'unbearable harassment'

It's Dr. Dre vs. Dr. Charles Sophy.

The hip-hop icon, whose legal name is Andre Young, is being sued by his former marriage counselor and therapist on allegations of harassment, stalking, and threatening Sophy to the degree that the latter now allegedly refuses to leave his house without a bulletproof vest.

In a complaint filed in Los Angeles Superior Court this week and obtained by Entertainment Weekly, Sophy's legal team asserts, "Nobody, absolutely nobody, should ever be subjected to this type of abusive, tormenting conduct, especially when the person being subjected to those threats and unbearable harassment is the doctor who had worked diligently to help treat this individual."

Young, in turn, alleged in a statement provided to EW that it is Sophy who has behaved unprofessionally, and accused him of "dereliction of duties and incredible incompetence," particularly with regard to Young's children.

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According to the complaint, Sophy started working as a marriage counselor for Young and his then-wife, Nicole Threatt, in 2018. When the couple decided to initiate divorce proceedings, Sophy served as mediator until the process was completed in 2021. But more than a year later, Young began texting Sophy in what the doctor claims in the complaint was "a nearly year-long sustained campaign of late-night texts, threats of intimidation and violence, and homophobic rhetoric."

The main evidence supplied by Sophy's legal team for these allegations consists of copies of text messages (attached to the complaint in an exhibit) that Young allegedly sent over the course of 2023, including dates and times but with third-party names redacted. For instance, on Feb. 16, 2023, Young allegedly texted Sophy that "[REDACTED] told me something disturbing. You're going to have to pay for that." Three more texts followed that day: "you're a bitch," "yes you," and "you're a piece of s---."

Sophy argues in the complaint that, because Young has been accused of abuse by women in the past, he "reasonably believed that Young was capable of carrying out his threats and causing physical harm, violence, or death to Dr. Sophy."

Women who have accused Young of abuse in the past include journalist Dee Barnes, Young's former girlfriend Michel'le, and musician Tairrie B. Murphy. Barnes sued him for allegedly attacking her at a 1991 party; he pleaded no contest to charges of assault and battery, was fined $2,500, and was sentenced to community service and probation that included making a domestic violence PSA. Michel'le claimed Young was physically abusive during their relationship from the late '80s to the mid-'90s, though she never pressed charges. Murphy claimed Young punched her twice in the face at a Grammys after-party in 1990.

In 2015, ahead of the release of the N.W.A. biopic Straight Outta Compton and Dr. Dre's album Compton, Young issued a public apology to unnamed women via the New York Times, saying, "I apologize to the women I've hurt. I deeply regret what I did and know that it has forever impacted all of our lives."

Young has offered his own explanation for the text messages. His lawyer, Howard King, claims that Sophy's lawsuit is a response to a complaint filed by Young with the Osteopathic Medical Board of California, alleging that the doctor behaved unprofessionally during the aforementioned divorce proceedings.

"Dr. Sophy filed his suit only after he failed to pressure Mr. Young into to dropping efforts to get Dr. Sophy punished for dereliction of duties and incredible incompetence," King alleged in a statement provided to EW. "These claims are set forth in detail in a confidential complaint Mr. Young filed in 2023 with the Osteopathic Medical Board of California. That complaint seeks revocation of Dr. Sophy’s license to provide mental health counseling to needy patients."

The statement further claimed: "In gross violation of all applicable standards of care, Dr. Sophy inserted himself into a contentious divorce while he simultaneously 'treated' not only Mr. and Mrs. Young, but their children. He was terminated when it was revealed that he was encouraging one of their children to take sides against Mr. Young, even encouraging his son to go to the press with false allegations in order to force a financial settlement that he recommended. Dr. Sophy has consistently rebuffed Medical Board attempts to investigate these claims, but has now filed this desperate suit while the noose of the Medical Board is tightening."

Representatives for the Osteopathic Medical Board of California didn't immediately respond to EW's request for information about the current status of Young's alleged complaint.

Young's account would seem to correspond with some of the text messages included in the complaint.

"Let me be crystal clear with you, I know a charlatan when I see one," he allegedly texted Sophy on Feb. 17, 2023. "Information is readily available and I know your reputation and the ethical breaches of conduct that have followed your career especially during your tenure at DCFS. Fortunately, hearing you defend your choice of clinical interventions to the medical board particularly as it relates [REDACTED] will bring me some satisfaction."

Reached for comment about these allegations of "ethical breaches," Sophy's attorney Christopher Frost told EW the focus should be on Young's behavior.

"All mental health professionals work with individuals and families at their most vulnerable and emotionally challenging times of their lives," Frost said in a statement. "However, threatening and harassing someone as a means to express one's emotions is an unacceptable behavior that the world at large cannot tolerate. Unfortunately, Mr. Young's recent conduct since the filing of the complaint only perpetuates his chosen consistent pattern of behavior. This dispute is about his consistent pattern of negative and abusive behavior and nothing else."

Sophy is seeking at least $10 million in damages, in addition to legal fees.