Busta Rhymes files countersuit against former assistant over assault claims
Busta Rhymes was accused of punching his former assistant in a lawsuit. Now, the New York City rapper is countersuing.
Dashiel ‘Divine’ Gables sued Busta in the Eastern District of New York on August 4th, claiming he assaulted him in his Brooklyn home.
However, Busta is hitting back at Gables with a suit of his own. His lawyer, Patrick Butler, said he “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.”
Busta claims that he’s been dropped from two advertising campaigns since sharing his lawsuit with the media.
In response to the filing, Gables’ attorney, Mark A Panzavecchia, told Rolling Stone, “There is absolutely no basis for the counterclaims and we stand by our client and his lawsuit. The evidence will corroborate our account of the events.”
Busta revealed plans for a countersuit earlier this summer while denying all wrongdoing. “I have been made aware of the claims made by Dashiel Gables, and I completely and categorically deny these allegations,” he said at the time.
He continued, “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.”
Busta was arrested in January on third-degree assault charges. As part of his claims, Gables said his “working day would begin when Busta Rhymes woke up and end when he went to sleep,” with allegations of unpaid overtime and homophobic slurs.
He released his last album, Blockbusta, in November 2023, with guest spots from Young Thug, Chris Brown, Kodak Black, DaBaby, Quavo, and more. It reached number 42 on the Billboard 200.