Dr. Dre is facing a $10 million lawsuit from his former marriage counselor.
According to TMZ, the lawsuit was filed by Dr. Charles J. Sophy, who served as marriage counselor for Dr. Dre and his ex-wife Nicole Young during their union before staying on to act as a mediator during their divorce.
Sophy claims Dre started bombarding him with abusive texts in February 2023, calling him a “bitch” and “piece of shit” and even threatening to make him pay. The message started coming in 14 months after Dre and Nicole’s divorce was finalized.
The marriage psychiatrist also claims that Dre’s harassment escalated to the point of sending goons disguised as FBI agents to intimidate him. He says the incident forced him to heighten his home security, and he now refuses to leave his residence without wearing a bulletproof vest for protection.
“Rather than treating the mediation process as an opportunity for healing, [Dre] decided to take his frustrations about the mediation out on Dr. Sophy — frustrations that manifested themselves in the form of a nearly year-long sustained campaign of late-night texts, threats of intimidation and violence, and homophobic rhetoric,” Sophy’s attorney, Christopher Frost of the firm Frost LLP, told TMZ.
The lawsuit seeks $10 million in damages and a restraining order to keep the Beats Electronics founder 100 yards away from him.
Responding to the lawsuit, Dr. Dre’s attorney, Howard King, dismissed the marriage counselor’s allegations, framing the suit as an attempt to dodge accountability.
“Dr. Sophy filed his suit only after he failed to pressure Mr. Young into dropping efforts to get Dr. Sophy punished for dereliction of duties and incredible incompetence,” King told TMZ. “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,” he continued. “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.”
King further claims Dr. Sophy was fired after allegedly encouraging one of Dre’s kids to turn against him and even go public with false accusations to force a financial settlement.
“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,” he added.
“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.”
