Busta Rhymes defamation counterclaim

Photo Credit: Busta Rhymes by Matt J. Carbone / CC by 2.0

Busta Rhymes files a countersuit against his former assistant for defamation after they accused the rapper earlier this summer of workplace assault.

Busta Rhymes has filed a countersuit against his former assistant, Dashiel Gables, who sued the rapper earlier this summer with allegations of workplace abuse. Rhymes, whose legal name is Trevor Smith Jr., was arrested in Brooklyn in January on third-degree assault charges after allegedly striking Gables in the face. Gables then filed a federal lawsuit over the summer, accusing Smith of physical assault.

In the counterclaim, filed on Monday (October 13), Smith’s attorney Patrick Butler denied that the rapper assaulted Gables, claiming that the former assistant “knew the statements were false, or acted with reckless disregard for the truth, including by fabricating allegations of criminal conduct and violence.”

Further, the suit alleges that Gables’ initial filing omits “exculpatory facts” and deliberately ignores evidence to the contrary. The filing also claims that Gables shared his lawsuit with the media, which damaged the artist’s reputation with “defamatory claims.” This, his lawyers allege, resulted in Busta Rhymes being dropped from two advertising campaigns.

Gables’ lawsuit contained allegations that Smith “routinely degraded, screamed at, and made unreasonable demands of [Gables] and other employees.” He also allegedly spit in their faces, smacked the back of their heads, and grabbed them by their clothes.

In January, Gables claimed that Rhymes yelled at him after he answered a phone call from his own daughter. The musician then allegedly punched Gables several times, which “constructively terminated” his employment.

Busta Rhymes has denied the allegations against him. “For a very brief period, Dashiel assisted me, but it did not work out,” the rapper told The Guardian at the time. “Apparently, Dashiel has decided to respond to being let go by manufacturing claims against me in an attempt to attack and damage my reputation.”

Representatives for neither Smith nor Gables responded to media requests for comment on the former’s countersuit.