Busta Rhymes Settles With Ex-Aide Over ‘Defamatory’ Assault Claims

Busta Rhymes has reached a private settlement with the ex-assistant who claimed the Grammy-nominated rapper punched him in the face in the lobby of the rapper’s Brooklyn apartment building last year.

The former assistant, Dashiel Gables, had claimed Rhymes, born Trevor Smith Jr., flew into a rage and assaulted him over a delayed pan of chicken and a phone call Gables took from his young daughter, which purportedly violated a no-cellphone rule on the job.

Smith, 53, was arrested and issued a desk appearance ticket for third-degree assault, a misdemeanor, CBS News New York reported at the time. Last August, the ex-assistant filed an assault and battery lawsuit in federal court that invoked the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. He claimed he was subjected to workplace abuses and then blackballed from the hip-hop industry after the alleged assault.

Smith denied Gables’ allegations and filed a counterclaim for defamation in October. He said Gables’ claims damaged his reputation and caused him to lose income and business opportunities.

In a letter to the judge filed this week, lawyers for Smith and Gables said they had settled the matter in private mediation. “The parties are finalizing the settlement documentation and anticipate that it will be completed within ten days,” they wrote without elaborating on the terms. The judge ordered them to file a formal motion for settlement by June 1.

Lawyers for Smith and Gables did not respond to requests for comment from Rolling Stone. The outcome of Smith’s criminal case, meanwhile, has been sealed, a spokesperson with the Brooklyn DA’s office said.