— Rap legend Busta Rhymes has agreed to pay his former personal assistant Dashiel Gables $25,000 to resolve a legal dispute involving allegations of unpaid wages and workplace misconduct. The settlement brings a case that initially involved claims totaling roughly $6 million closer to an end.
According to newly filed court documents, the $25,000 settlement will be divided into two payments of $12,500. One payment will cover wage-related claims, while the other will resolve the remaining allegations included in the agreement. Busta Rhymes, whose legal name is Trevor Smith Jr., signed the settlement along with Starbus LLC and Conglomerate Entertainment. Neither side is admitting wrongdoing as part of the deal.
Gables worked as Busta’s personal assistant from the summer of 2024 until January 2025. In his lawsuit, he alleged that he regularly worked 15- to 18-hour days while receiving a flat rate of $200 per day and was not properly paid overtime.
The lawsuit also included allegations surrounding a January 2025 confrontation in Brooklyn. Gables accused the rapper of punching him following a disagreement involving work responsibilities and cellphone use. Busta has denied those allegations and previously described his former assistant’s accusations as false.
Busta later filed his own defamation counterclaim, alleging that Gables made false statements that harmed his reputation and resulted in lost income and business opportunities. The competing lawsuits eventually went to private mediation, where the two sides reached an agreement earlier this year.
As part of the settlement, Gables must also return certain private work-related materials from his time working for the rapper. Once the required payments are completed, the lawsuits are expected to be permanently dismissed.
One portion of the agreement still requires approval from a federal judge because it involves wage claims. If the court approves the settlement, the dispute can officially conclude without a trial or a court determining whether either side’s allegations were true.
The agreement represents a significant reduction from the millions of dollars Gables originally sought and could bring an end to a highly publicized legal dispute that has followed Busta Rhymes for more than a year.
(Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images)
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