Busta Rhymes has formally denied accusations of assault and workplace abuse made by a former assistant, calling the claims false and retaliatory in a newly filed defamation countersuit.
In a response filed today (October 13) in Brooklyn federal court, the Hip-Hop icon and his company, Starbus LLC, rejected all key allegations made by Dashiel Gables, a former assistant who sued earlier this year.
Gables claimed he was physically attacked, underpaid, and blacklisted after working for the rapper between July 2024 and January 2025.
Busta’s legal team acknowledged Gables’ employment and $1,500-per-week salary but denied any wrongdoing. The filing disputes Gables’ claim that Busta Rhymes punched him in a Brooklyn lobby in January 2025, stating the two were present but that the alleged assault never occurred.
Following the incident, Gables said he sought medical treatment for facial injuries and filed a police report. Busta Rhymes later turned himself in and was charged with third-degree assault.
Gables’ lawsuit seeks $6 to $7 million in damages for unpaid wages, emotional distress, and physical harm.
The response also challenges Gables’ claims of wage theft, arguing he was not legally classified as an employee and was paid appropriately under the law.
Busta’s attorneys filed a countersuit for defamation, accusing Gables of deliberately spreading false and damaging claims to media outlets and at a public press conference.
Gables described a hostile work environment that included verbal insults, physical intimidation, and degrading tasks unrelated to job duties.
Among the most disturbing claims is an incident where another assistant was allegedly forced to unclog a toilet with his bare hand after the rapper said it wasn’t cleaned properly – allegations the rapper flatly denies.
“The foregoing statements are statements of purported fact, not opinion or protected rhetorical hyperbole, and they are false. [Busta Rhymes] did not assault or batter Gables, did not ‘routinely assault’ or spit on employees, did not make the alleged threats, and did not commit the other wrongful acts asserted as facts by Gables,” Busta Rhymes’ attorney J. Patrick Butler wrote in the filing.
The countersuit argues that Gables’ statements were made with “actual malice” and have caused serious harm to the rap star’s reputation and business opportunities.
“At the time he made or caused the Publications, Gables knew the statements were false, or acted with reckless disregard for the truth, including by fabricating allegations of criminal conduct and violence, omitting exculpatory facts, and deliberately ignoring contrary evidence. At a minimum, Gables acted negligently in ascertaining the truth,” Butler added.
Busta Rhymes is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, reimbursement of legal fees, and a court-ordered retraction of the statements.