Busta Rhymes Accused of 'Weaponizing the Courts' — Ex-Assistant Claims Rapper's Defamation Suit Is a Silencing Tactic

Busta Rhymes is being accused of using the legal system to silence his former assistant after a $6 million lawsuit alleged assault and workplace misconduct.

According to a report by AllHipHop, Dashiel Gables filed a response in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York describing Busta Rhymes' defamation countersuit as a "retaliatory Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation," more commonly referred to as a SLAPP.

In his filing, Gables said the countersuit was filed with the intent to punish him for speaking publicly and for "exercising his constitutional right to petition for redress of grievances."

Gables, who worked for the rapper from July 2024 until January 2025, maintains that his claims are true and thus legally protected. As his legal team wrote in the filing, "Truth is an absolute defense to defamation under state and federal law."

The suit, as per Billboard reportedly stems from an altercation on January 10, 2025, when Gables alleged that Rhymes punched him in the face following an argument in the lobby of the artist's Brooklyn residence. Gables said he was fired after reporting the incident to police, adding he has since suffered from emotional distress, unpaid wages, and blacklisting within the industry.

After the incident, Busta Rhymes surrendered to police and was charged with third-degree assault. He has denied all of the allegations and filed a defamation countersuit in October 2025.

Rhymes' lawyers claim Gables made "false and defamatory" comments against him in media interviews and at a news conference, including claims that the rapper spat on employees, issued threats and made another assistant unclog a toilet with his bare hands. The lawyers want damages and a retraction.

Attorneys for Gables responded that the countersuit is an intimidation tactic aimed at silencing a whistleblower. "The statements in Plaintiff's Complaint are protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution," they said in the filing.

They also contended that Gables' claims implicate "matters of public interest," including workplace safety and claimed wrongdoing by a public figure, which they say is entitled to "heightened constitutional protection."

Gables has asked the court to dismiss the rapper's counterclaim, award attorney fees, and impose sanctions against Rhymes for what he calls a "frivolous and retaliatory counterclaim." The court has not taken up the motion to dismiss the countersuit yet.