Busta Rhymes denied allegations of physical assault brought forth in a new lawsuit filed by the rapper’s former assistant.
In January, the rapper born Trevor Smith Jr. was arrested in Brooklyn on third-degree assault charges after allegedly punching his then-assistant Dashiel Gables in the face. While that case is still pending, Gables filed a federal lawsuit earlier this week accusing Rhymes of assault and other workplace abuses.
“Busta Rhymes routinely degraded, screamed at, and made unreasonable demands of Plaintiff and other employees,” Gables’ lawsuit, obtained by Courthouse News, stated, adding that physical abuse included Rhymes “spitting in their faces, smacking the back of their heads, and grabbing their clothes.”
However, the breaking point came in January when Rhymes allegedly assaulted Gables after the assistant answered a phone call from his own daughter. “When Plaintiff explained it was his daughter, Busta Rhymes responded, ‘Don’t tell me about your fucking kid, what the fuck that gotta do with me?’” the lawsuit stated.
Immediately after that confrontation, Rhymes allegedly punched Gables several times, which “constructively terminated Plaintiff’s employment.” Gables was later treated at a nearby hospital and filed a police report soon after, resulting in Rhymes’ arrest.
Gables’ lawsuit claims that after the police report against Rhymes following the alleged assault, he has “been frozen out of the hip-hop music industry,” and “effectively blacklisted from employment opportunities in his chosen field.”
(The lawsuit also cites an incident involving a previous Rhymes assistant who “quit abruptly in tears after Busta Rhymes demanded he unclog Busta Rhymes’ toilet without a plunger, forcing him to clear the clogged toilet by hand.”)
In a statement to the Guardian, Rhymes denied the allegations listed in Gables’ lawsuit. “I have been made aware of the claims made by Dashiel Gables, and I completely and categorically deny these allegations. For a very brief period, Dashiel assisted me, but it did not work out,’” Rhymes said.
“Apparently, Dashiel has decided to respond to being let go by manufacturing claims against me in an attempt to attack and damage my reputation. I look forward to proving these allegations false, and am preparing a countersuit, which I am confident will expose this for what it is — an attempted shake-down by a disgruntled former assistant. Ultimately, I am certain the truth will prevail.”
