Busta Rhymes says allegations of underpayment, assault are shakedown by ‘disgruntled’ ex-assistant
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Busta Rhymes is rejecting claims leveled against him in a lawsuit filed this week by a former assistant, calling it an “attempted shake-down.”
Dashiel Gables, who filed the lawsuit Monday in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, is accusing Rhymes — real name Trevor Smith Jr. — of wage and hour violations as well as assault, battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
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“I have been made aware of the claims made by Dashiel Gables, and I completely and categorically deny these allegations,” Rhymes said in a statement to The Times. “For a very brief period, Dashiel assisted me, but it did not work out. Apparently, Dashiel has decided to respond to being let go by manufacturing claims against me in an attempt to attack and damage my reputation.”
Rhymes, 53, said he is preparing a countersuit and is “confident [it] will expose this for what it is — an attempted shake-down by a disgruntled former assistant.”
Gables, in a statement to The Times, said, “I worked my heart out for Busta. Long hours, day and night, weekends, you name it. He bullied me from day one. He regularly insulted me, called me names and slurs, screamed at me in front of other people. He forced me to chase after him for even little things like expense reimbursement when I had to buy him cigarettes and liquor with my own money. But I stuck around, because I needed the work and I thought things would get better. But instead, he punched me twice in the face.”
In the lawsuit, which was reviewed by The Times, Gables alleges that Rhymes repeatedly called him a slur related to sexuality and mocked his poor hearing by telling him to “get a hearing aid.” He also says he was improperly categorized as a salaried employee and wasn’t paid overtime despite allegedly being required to work 15-, 16- and 18-hour shifts regularly for a flat $200 a day.
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The suit says Gables, 44, accompanied Rhymes on tour from early July to early September of last year, seven days a week, without being paid travel time or overtime, then worked for him from 2 p.m. to 8:30 a.m. daily without pay over his day rate from Sept. 3, 2024, until Jan. 10.
On that last day, the lawsuit alleges, Rhymes “constructively terminated” Gables’ employment “by repeatedly punching him in the face” after first raging at his assistant for not promptly bringing a “catering-size” pan of chicken in from the rapper’s car, then chewing Gables out for sending a text to his minor daughter during work hours.
Gables “tolerated a great deal of abuse while working for Busta Rhymes, he could not tolerate the repeated physical assault and was unable to return to work,” the complaint says, adding that Gables went to the hospital for treatment of bruising and swelling and filed a police report regarding the alleged assault. He did not return to work.
After Gables filed the police report he was “frozen out of the hip-hop music industry,” the complaint alleges. He is seeking back pay as well as compensatory and punitive damages and is asking for a jury trial.
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“Because he finally stood up for himself, Mr. Gables is now blacklisted in the industry, with no work or prospects. He’s heartbroken. Mr. Rhymes has crushed his lifelong dream,” Gables’ attorney Avrohom Gefen, a partner at Vishnick McGovern Milizio LLP, said in a statement to The Times.
“Mr. Rhymes has a long history of charges and lawsuits brought against him by former employees. It’s a twenty-year pattern of intimidation and abusive behavior toward those who depended on him for their livelihood. His disparaging statement against Mr. Gables is a continuation of this pattern of bullying. He’s gotten away with it for far too long. No more.”
Updates
3:29 p.m. Aug. 11, 2025: This article has been updated with statements from Dashiel Gables and his attorney.
