Busta Rhymes filed a counterclaim against his former assistant, who accused the rapper of hitting him while at work.
Rimes, born Trevor Smith Jr., was arrested in Brooklyn back in January and charged with third-degree assault after allegedly punching then-assistant Dashiell Gables in the face. This summer, Gables filed a federal lawsuit accusing Rhimes of physical abuse and other workplace abuses.
According to BillboardSmith's lawyer, Patrick Butler, denied that the artist beat Gables in a countersuit filed Monday (Oct. 13) in federal court. The lawyer said the former aide “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 willfully ignoring contrary evidence.”
The counterclaim also alleges that Gables shared his previous lawsuit with the media and that Smith's reputation was damaged by defamatory statements, resulting in the rapper being dropped from two advertising campaigns.
Mark A. Panzavecchia, the attorney representing Gables, responded to the filing in Rolling Stone. “There is absolutely no basis for the counterclaims, and we support our client and his claim,” Panzavecchia said. “The evidence will support our version of events.”
Gables' lawsuit, filed earlier this year, alleged that Smith “regularly belittled, yelled at and made unreasonable demands on Plaintiff and other employees” and allegedly spat in their faces, hit them in the back of the head and grabbed their clothes.
The former aide alleged that Smith yelled at him in January after Gables answered a phone call to his own daughter. Rhimes then allegedly punched Gables several times, which “constructively terminated plaintiff's employment.”
In the previous statement to GuardianSmith has denied the allegations made in Gables' lawsuit. “I completely and categorically deny these allegations. For a very short period of time, Dashiell helped me, but it did not work,” Rimes said at the time. “Apparently, Dashiel decided to respond to the dismissal by bringing claims against me in an attempt to attack and damage my reputation.”
This article was updated Oct. 14 at 12:03 a.m. to include a statement from attorney Dashiell Gables.
