Busta Rhymes has countersued his former personal assistant Dashiel Gables, who accused the rapper of assaulting him during an argument the pair allegedly had in January
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Busta Rhymes has countersued his former personal assistant(Image: Billboard via Getty Images)
Busta Rhymes has hit back at his former personal assistant by filing a countersuit, claiming the ex-employee “fabricated” allegations that the rapper assaulted him in January.
The 53-year-old musician, whose real name is Trevor George Smith Jr., submitted a counterclaim in federal court accusing his former assistant, Dashiel Gables, of defamation after the latter sued him for alleged assault and wrongful termination.
In the court documents, the Touch It hitmaker stated that the accusations significantly damaged his public standing and professional reputation.
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He claims he has suffered “damage to reputation, goodwill, and standing in the music and advertising industries”, as well as a loss of “advertising campaigns and other business opportunities”.
According to court documents obtained by People magazine, Busta is now seeking “special damages in an amount to be proven at trial”, and has added that in his opinion “Gables’ conduct was willful, wanton, and malicious, warranting an award of punitive damages”.
Gables, who worked for the hip-hop star from July 2024 until early this year, claimed that his employment ended after he reported an alleged assault to police.
However, Busta firmly denies the allegations, writing in his counterclaim: “Smith did not assault or batter Gables. Gables 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. At a minimum, Gables acted negligently in ascertaining the truth.”
The former assistant, who also goes by the name Divine, filed his own civil complaint on August 4, requesting a jury trial. He alleged that a confrontation in January 2025 escalated when Busta screamed at him to “stay the f*** off your phone” while he was trying to contact his daughter, before allegedly punching him twice in the face.
Gables claimed he suffered a swollen eye, filed a police report, and was subsequently fired, which he says “effectively blacklisted [him] from employment opportunities in his chosen field [in the music industry]”.
Gables’ lawsuit also alleges verbal abuse, wage violations, and discrimination, claiming Busta “routinely degraded and screamed” at him, used a homophobic slur, and mocked his hearing problems.
He is seeking compensation for lost wages, unpaid overtime, and damages under the Fair Labour Standards Act and New York Labour Law.
This court battle comes two years after Busta Rhymes went through a dramatic physical transformation. The rapper, who once weighed 340 pounds (24 stone) , told Men’s Health that he lost around 100 pounds (nearly 8 stone) after suffering a terrifying asthma-like attack during an intimate moment with his ex.
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After his father died in 2014, Busta turned to “drinking, smoking and eating bad” to cope with grief. But after the health scare, he vowed to turn his life around.
“I felt like I was having like an asthma attack — but I don’t have asthma,” he said, adding that his ex told him he needed to lose weight for his own wellbeing.
HMP Wakefield – dubbed ‘Monster Mansion’ – is home to some of the Britain’s most depraved criminals from terrorists, murderers, rapists and ‘Hannibal the Cannibal’ who is caged in an underground glass box
Category A prison HMP Wakefield carries the chilling nickname ‘Monster Mansion’ for holding around 600 of Britain’s most dangerous criminals.
On Saturday morning, former Lostprophets frontman Ian Watkins died in the jail following an alleged attack. Two of Watkins’ former inmates are accused of his murder – Rashid Gedel, 25, who was referred to as Rico Gedel during a hearing this week, and Samuel Dodsworth, 43.
Emergency services were sent to the West Yorkshire prison but disgraced rock star Watkins, 48, who was serving a 29-year sentence for child sex offences, was pronounced dead at the scene.
There is no suggestion that Gedel and Dodsworth were involved in a previous attack against Watkins in 2023. To years ago the Mirror reported that three unnamed inmates held paedophile Watkins hostage for six hours where he was beaten and stabbed in the neck in a ‘targeted and prolonged’ attack.
Officers had to wait for an armed ‘Tornado’ team of specially trained riot officers to break up the situation with grenades being hurled into the cell to free Watkins.
The depraved frontman had been locked up at the west Yorkshire prison since 2013 when he was jailed for 35 years for 13 offences against children, including the attempted rape of an 11 month old baby.
A source told The Sun Watkins has been walking around with a ‘target on his back’ with fellow inmates biding for less staff to be on shift to make their move.
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Watkins was left ‘fighting for his life’ after being given emergency treatment in an ambulance outside the prison where he was caged.
The Lostprophets Singer included, HMP Wakefield is home to some of Britain’s most high-profile, high-risk sex offenders and murderers. The likes of Charles Bronson, Harold Shipman and Jeremy Bamber have been counted among the notorious residents.
After being caught with a mobile phone behind bars in 2019, Watkins told a court that he was locked up with “murderers, mass murderers, rapists, paedophiles, serial killers’.
“The worst of the worst,” he told the judge, before another 10 months were added to his sentence for the rule break.
Wakefield is one of oldest prisons in the UK having originally been built as a correction house back in 1594 with many of the current buildings dating from the Victoria era. In 2001 an ultra-secure unit – the first of its kind in the UK – was added to the site, built especially to cage some of Britain’s most dangerous criminals.
The notorious jail also contains an underground glass box where murderer Robert Maudsley, chillingly dubbed ‘Hannibal the Cannibal’, has spent over 16,500 consecutive days in isolation.
Channel 5 documentary HMP Wakefield: Evil Behind Bars revealed that sex offenders are regarded as the “lowest form of life” in the prison with one contributor to the programme referring to those inmates as the “dregs of society”.
Watkins is not the first prisoner to have been attacked on the grounds with previous attacks being made against inmates who commit crimes against children. In August 2022 Lithuanian Deividas Skebas, a former fruit picket, had to be airlifted to hospital after a group set upon him. He had been serving time for stabbing nine-year-old Lilia Valutyte to death.
Roy Whiting, who murdered schoolgirl Sarah Payne, has been slashed and scarred in a number of revenge attacks made against him during his time at Wakefield.
In 1978, Robert Maudsley killed two fellow prisoners at Wakefield Prison in one day; he had originally set out to kill seven.
Some of HMP Wakefield’s most notorious inmates include:
Robert Maudsley
Robert John Maudsley has killed four people, with one of the killings taking place in a psychiatric hospital and two in prison after receiving a life sentence for a murder.
Maudsley – dubbed Hannibal the Cannibal – has been in jail since the age of 21, after he was found guilty of murdering convicted child molester John Farrell, aged 30, in 1974.
He surrendered himself to police, and was later sent to Broadmoor hospital after being deemed unable to stand trial. While under psychiatric care, Maudsley and another patient, David Cheeseman, tortured a third patient to death over a period of nine hours. Maudsley was convicted of manslaughter and sent to Wakefield Prison.
In 1978 Maudsley killed two fellow prisoners at Wakefield Prison in one day. After stabbing two inmates to death, Maudsley is said to have calmly walked into the wing office and told guards there would be ‘two short’ on the next roll call.
Earlier this year, the twisted triple murderer set a new world record for the most days spent in solitary confinement, and last month, he turned 70 behind bars. The specially-built cell, where he is kept at Wakefield Prison, is said to be 18ft by 15ft – which is slightly bigger than average – and has a concrete slab for a bed.
Maudsley is now deemed to be so dangerous that he is no longer allowed to associate with other prisoners or even guards, and spends all of his time alone, entombed in a glass box deep in the bowels of the prison. He will never again be a free man and instead remains in the tiny see-through room that has been his home for decades.
Jeremy Bamber
Bamber is serving life with no chance of parole after he was convicted of the White House farm murders – a desperate attempt to steal a large inheritance and blame his schizophrenic 28-year-old sister. He killed his adoptive parents, sister, and nephews in the 1985 massacre.
The now 62-year-old has tried repeatedly to have his conviction overturned. As of this year, Bamber has spent 38 years behind bars making him one of the longest serving prisoners in the UK.
Roy Whiting
Whiting was found guilty of the abduction and murder of seven-year-old Sarah Payne in July 2000.
Ineligible for parole until 2051, Whiting has been the target of a number of revenge attacks while inside HMP Wakefield.
In 2002 he was attacked with a razor while fetching hot water. Then in 2004 murderer Rickie Tregaskis slashed Whiting and left him with a six-inch scar across his right cheek, adding a further six years to his sentence.
In July 2011 Whiting was attacked again after being stabbed in the eye but decided not to press charges. He was attacked for a fourth time in 2018 when he was stabbed by two other prisoners and taken to hospital for treatment. He later returned to his cell in a stable condition.
Harold Shipman
British doctor Shipman is thought to be one of the most prolific serial killers of all time. Before his suicide, the man dubbed ‘Dr Death’ had been convicted of murdering 15 patients but was thought to have killed far more.
He is suspected to have killed as many as 250 people, and would kill elderly patients by either lethally injecting them with a drug, or prescribing abnormal amounts.
He died at HMP Wakefield on January 13, 2004.
Reynhard Sinaga
Sinaga, an Indonesian PhD student at Leeds University, would lure victims to his flat before sedating and raping them – then taking to WhatsApp to boast about his actions. Known as ‘Britain’s worst rapist’ he was sent to Wakefield in 2020 after sexually assaulting up to 200 men – including 136 rapes of young men committed in Manchester between 2015 and 2017.
He was sentenced in January 2020 to 40 years in jail.
Charles Bronson
Charles Bronson, regarded as the country’s ‘most violent prisoner’ has also enjoyed a spate of time behind Wakefield’s bars.
Bronson who was born under the name Michael Peterson was convicted of armed robbery in 1974 and gone on to spend most of his life behind bars.
Ian Watkins
Former Lostprophets frontman Ian Watkins was sentenced to 29 years in prison in 2013 after being convicted of a string of ‘depraved’ crimes against young children, which included attempting to rape an 11-month-old baby. Detective Chief Inspector Peter Doyle said at the time: “The investigation uncovered the most disturbing child abuse evidence I have seen in my 28 years as a police officer.”
In August 2023, the Mirror revealed that Watkins was fighting for his life after three inmates took him hostage. The former musician suffered from stab wounds and beatings.
It took prison officers around six hours to free the convicted sex offender which resulted in stun grenades being used. Sources claim that medical staff were working in an ambulance outside the West Yorkshire-based prison in a bid to save Watkins’ life.
A source revealed that there had been fears the attack would have killed Watkins. A Prison Service spokesperson said: “Police are investigating an incident which took place on Saturday at HMP Wakefield. We are unable to comment further while the police investigate.”
In 2013, the Welsh native pleaded guilty at Cardiff Crown Court to 13 child sex offences. He also admitted to the rape and sexual assault of a child who was under the age of 13. Watkins also admitted conspiring to rape a child, three counts of sexual assault involving children, seven involving taking, making or possessing indecent images of children and one of possessing an extreme pornographic image involving a sex act on an animal.
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Sentencing Mr Justice Royce said the case broke ‘new ground’ and ‘plunged into new depths of depravity’. He said Watkins had a ‘corrupting influence’ and had shown a ‘complete lack of remorse’. He added Watkins posed a significant risk to the public in particular to women with young children.
Charlotte Church was welcomed onto This Morning to perform a live soundbath for viewers, but the singer became offended when Alison Hammond burst into a fit of laughter
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Alison Hammond hosts This Morning alongside Dermot O’Leary(Image: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock)
Charlotte Church has revealed that Alison Hammond’s viral laughing fit during her This Morning soundbath performance left her feeling deeply hurt and annoyed.
The Welsh singer and Celebrity Traitors star, 39, appeared on the ITV morning show in November 2023 to lead hosts Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary through a live soundbath session.
What was supposed to be a serene moment went viral on social media when Alison struggled to contain her laughter during the musical demonstration.
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Now, Charlotte has spoken about the experience on Elizabeth Day’s How To Fail podcast, admitting the moment touched a nerve.
“Oh that p**sed me right off,” she confessed, before repeating: “That p**sed me right off.” She went on to explain: “I’ve met Alison Hammond a number of times and she’s a wonderful woman. I think that part of it was a misjudgement on my part to go, ‘let’s do a five minute sound bath on national TV. That makes loads of sense. Yeah, let’s go for it’.”
However, Charlotte said it wasn’t just Alison’s laughter that stung, but what it represented. “I think what annoyed me more than anything else was that then I’m given the opportunity to display and demonstrate and represent somewhat this amazing art of sound healing or sound ceremony or however people want to describe it, and then it’s made a figure of fun,” she said.
“That really did actually touch quite a deep wound for me. I was like, ‘Ugh I really like you, Alison, but f**k you.’” Podcast host Elizabeth Day pointed out that it likely reminded Charlotte of times she’s been mocked in the past, to which she agreed: “Yeah, totally.”
The soundbath segment had given Charlotte a chance to showcase the kind of spiritual work she now focuses on at her wellness retreat in rural Wales, The Dreaming.
While on the ITV show, she explained: “One of our pillars is sound and sound healing in all of its forms. Sound affects us on a cellular level and science is really starting to come to terms with the power of sound.”
Since stepping back from mainstream music, the Voice of an Angel star has devoted herself to spiritual practices. Her retreat, which is set in 47 acres of ancient woodland, offers activities such as breathwork and forest bathing.
She has recently spearheaded a new five-day Witch retreat, which is an immersive experience designed to help guests “embody their magic through ritual, nature and deep witchcraft practices”.
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Charlotte is passionate about the new direction her life has taken and is looking forward to incorporating some of her singing skills into her holistic work.
She previously shared: “I’m doing stuff at The Dreaming, which is really about pulling out the strands of how sound can be used for healing, how voice can be used for healing. I wanna sort of try and meld this idea of music and healing, and voice and healing, with that joy and ecstasy.”
The Duchess of Sussex attempted to put a positive spin on her and Prince Harry’s new deal with Netflix as she likened her agreement with the streaming giant to that of the former US president
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Meghan Markle at the Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit 2025(Image: Getty Images for Fortune Media)
Meghan Markle has compared herself to the former US president and former First Lady, Barack and Michelle Obama as she discussed her and Prince Harry’s brand new deal with Netflix.
The Duchess of Sussex spoke at Fortune’s annual Most Powerful Women Summit in Washington DC, where she spoke about her deal with the streaming giant and the future of her widely-panned lifestyle show With Love, Meghan. Earlier this year, Meghan and Prince Harry signed another deal with Netflix, which guaranteed a “multi-year, first look deal for film and television projects”, which Meghan likened to the same deal the Obamas have with the streaming service.
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She told the audience in Washington: “My husband and I were in an overall deal with Netflix, and then not just similar to Higher Ground in the Obamas’ deal, once that had come to its term, the extension of it, which was such an incredible sign of the strength of our partnership, was now being in a first look deal.
“Which is also exciting, because it gives us flexibility to go to our partners first, and then at the same time, to be able to shop content that might not be the right fit for Netflix, but has a home somewhere else.”
Meghan also said she is “grateful” for the partnership, adding it has been “incredible” for her As Ever brand which sells flower sprinkles, pre-prepared baking kits and jam. She said: “What we’ve designed is being able to have so much robust support in year one, where you have the show complementing the brand or content and commerce or meeting, and then still enabling me to have autonomy, to build out my own team and scale it in the way that I envision.”
She added the partnership means “the business will, of course, go on longer than a series”. The Sussexes previously described their latest deal with Netflix, which is also a partner in As Ever, as “extending their creative partnership”.
But PR and crisis expert Mark Borkowski has called it a “downgrade,” and suggested Netflix had “done a very neat job of pivoting away from two very expensive people who didn’t deliver”.
Elsewhere during the conversation, Meghan shared a cryptic update about the future of With Love, Meghan , when she was quizzed about the show receiving a third season.
When asked by Fortune’s editor-in-chief Alyson Shontell if a follow up season could be in the works, Meghan seemed to dodge the question and not give a straight answer, instead opting to talk about her upcoming holiday special, which she announced would be airing in November.
Meghan said: “So I think looking at that format — again, it’s a year of learns — so we’re able to say, ‘Eight episodes for two seasons — it’s a lot of work’.”
“And having done Suits for seven years, I remember what goes into a production. I also recognize how much people want content in different sizes. Part of what we’re testing out now is, it’s amazing to sit and watch a show for 30 minutes, but how can I give you a recipe in two minutes? And where can I share that with you? And how that continues to grow As Ever.”
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Meghan also teased that the holiday special would include gift wrapping techniques, as she used to teach “advanced gift wrapping” between acting auditions.
The anticipated second season of Meghan’s show, which follows the widely-panned first season that premiered earlier this year, and saw Meghan share cooking, crafting, and hosting tips with a range of celebrity pals and experts. And after just hours of its premiere, was savaged by critics who deemed it everything from “needy” to “narcissistic”.
Natalie Cassidy lost 4st in just three months as she prepared to release her Then and Now Workout DVD, only to find herself gaining weight shortly after the project
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Natalie Cassidy opened up about the reality of her weight loss(Image: BBC)
EastEnders icon Natalie Cassidy admits she was “hurt” as she addresses the backlash to her fitness DVD after her 4st weight loss. The former soapstar says she dropped the weight in just three months after signing a deal to front the project.
Natalie Cassidy’s Then and Now Workout sold around 200,000 copies in its first week alone and netted the star a £100,000 payday. At the time she thought it would be a “good way to get fit”.
And Natalie herself even managed to lose 4st in just three months by following her regime. But she admits it was “too much too soon” and she eventually found herself putting the weight back on.
It sparked a series of “nasty comments” aimed at the star. Speaking to Bella magazine, Natalie, 42, said: “I’ve normally got skin like an elephant, but some of the remarks did hurt me.
“I started taking laxatives to try and lose some of the weight. I wasn’t kind to my body.”
Natalie says she eventually began “eating sensibly” and started exercising regularly. “For the last eight or nine years, I’ve been around the 10-stone mark. And I’m happy with that,” she added.
Natalie, who recently quit her role as Sonia Fowler after 32 years, has previously opened up about the aftermath of her fitness project on Giovanna Fletcher’s Happy Mum Happy Baby. She says she “ate and ate and ate” after the instructors finished her programme.
She said: “They left and then it was over. I just ate and ate and ate and ate and ate and again, if you link it up, I’d lost mum at 19, so all of that weight stuff was happening through all of that time.
“Silly decisions were being made, shouldn’t have done that, not the right guidance, but if someone says ‘Here’s a hundred grand, do you want to lose some weight?’, I was like, ‘Yeah I’ll take that’.”
Natalie, who has recently released a memoir Happy Days, believes having children meant she became less worried about her weight. She added: “The idea of worrying about what I looked like fell to the wayside.”
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Natalie however says she is “worried” about the increase in weight loss jabs. She said: “There was a lot of body positivity, a stage of real body positivity, and not a lot of weight chat.
“It feels like the weight chat just sort of went and I think there’s been a big focus on losing the weight now, which is a worry. Especially if you’ve got daughters.”
Morning Live star Michelle Ackerley has revealed she gave birth to her first child with husband Ben Ryan. This comes only weeks after the star was rushed to hospital after suffering from a painful infection.
The 41-year-old hopped on Instagram to share that her daughter had been born and posted a sweet selfie of her and the baby girl. In the caption, she revealed the baby’s name.
“Welcome to the world Nala Lomani Ryan. Our hearts couldn’t be more full,” she wrote. Followers flooded the comments with messages, one writing: “Eeeeek this is so wonderful. I’m beyond excited for you. The biggest congratulations and sending SO MUCH LOVE.”
Michelle Ackerley welcomed her first child Nala ( michelle_ackerley/Instagram)
Famous faces also shared their new parent’s joy. Michelle’s Morning Live co-host, Rav Wilding, comments a string of heart emojis, while Strictly’s Karen Hauer wrote: “Awwww look at this angel.”
Only weeks ago, concern for Michelle and baby’s health was sparked when she was rushed to the hospital due to a painful infection. Michelle promised fans both she and the baby were fine, and explained that she was diagnoses with labyrinthitis, an inner ear infection that affects your balance.
Sharing her health update on social media, she wrote: “Well it’s been quite the rollercoaster of a few days this end. Had such a lovely day back at work with the awesome BBC Morning Live team last Monday.
“Then unfortunately ended up in hospital with labyrinthitis for the next 4 days. I don’t know if anybody has had it before but it ain’t ideal.
“I have to stay the midwives at St Mary’s Hospital in Manchester were amazing and kept me calm with all the anxieties of being ill whilst pregnant. Resting up and nesting up at home now.”
Michelle has previously opened up about her fertility journey and fears of being unable to conceive due to her endometriosis diagnosis.
Michelle stepped back from Morning Live after going to hospital ( BBC)
Her co-star Gethin Jones halted today’s BBC Morning Live to announce her news. Gethin said: “Before we get into the show today, we have some wonderful news to share with you. It happened yesterday.
“Our Michelle Ackerley and Ben, they have had a new addition to the family. It is Nala Lomani Ryan.” A photo of Michelle with her new addition then appeared on screen, with Gethin saying: “There’s mum and daughter. She sent that to the group yesterday. Well, it’s just magnificent.”
He added: “We cannot wait for cuddles! Michelle’s watching this morning from hospital. We are sending all our love, Michelle, and to Ben and the whole family as well.”
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