Busta Rhymes has reached a legal settlement with a former assistant who claimed in a lawsuit that the rapper punched him in the face for using his cell phone on the job.

Rhymes (Trevor Smith Jr.) was hit with an assault lawsuit last summer from Dashiel Gables, who briefly worked as the rapper’s personal assistant. The star then countersued for defamation, calling the case “an attempted shakedown” from a “disgruntled” staffer.

But in court filings on Thursday (April 30), a judge said the two sides had “reached a settlement in principle” to end the entire legal battle. She ordered them to finalize the deal by June and submit it to her for approval.

Terms of the agreement, such as any money exchanged, were not made public. Neither side immediately returned a request for more details.

Rhymes was arrested in January 2025 over the alleged attack in the lobby of the star’s luxury Brooklyn high-rise. At the time, police said the rapper had punched the 50-year-old staffer in the face multiple times, sending him to the hospital. Court records do not indicate that prosecutors ended up pursuing charges over the incident.

Gables sued in August, claiming the assault was sparked by a phone call from his daughter while he was unloading Busta’s luggage. Though Gables said he ignored the call, he claims he responded via text message, sending Rhymes “into a rage” during which the star allegedly screamed, “Stay the f–k off your phone” and then attacked him.

After filing a police report, Gables said the star retaliated by ensuring that nobody else would hire him. “This industry-wide retaliation has devastated plaintiff’s career prospects and ability to earn a living in the only industry in which he has worked,” his lawyers wrote.

Rhymes “completely and categorically” denied the allegations, and two months later filed counterclaims in which he accused Gables of harming his reputation by making them.

“Smith did not assault or batter Gables,” Rhymes’ lawyers wrote at the time. “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.”

The case saw little action after that, though. It was paused in January in favor of mediation and has largely remained on ice as the parties worked on a settlement. On Wednesday (April 29), attorneys for both sides alerted the judge that they had “settled this matter in private mediation” earlier in the month.

On Tuesday (April 28), Ariana Grande announced her eighth studio album, petal.

As noted on streamers, the project will arrive not only via Grande’s longtime label home, Republic Records, but also a new entity called Babydoll Music.

Billboard has confirmed that Babydoll Music is Grande’s new company, and that petal marks the first release to be owned by that company as a license to Republic — continuing her longstanding partnership with the label.

While Grande’s back catalog remains unchanged, all future releases will be owned by Grande’s entity and exclusively licensed out.

Petal, which arrives July 31, was executive produced by Grande and longtime collaborator Ilya. It follows her 2024 set, Eternal Sunshine, which became her sixth album to top the Billboard 200 (following Yours Truly; My Everything; Sweetener; Thank U, Next; and Positions).

In a statement, Grande described petal as “something that is full of life and growing through the cracks of something cold and hard and challenging.”

The album will arrive in the middle of Grande’s highly anticipated Eternal Sunshine tour, which kicks off in Oakland, Calif., on June 6 and wraps with 10 dates at London’s The O2, with the final show set for Sept. 1. On album release day, Grande will be performing at Montreal’s Centre Bell arena.

Outside of music, Grande is continuing to cultivate an acting career. Following her role as Glinda in Wicked and Wicked: For Good, she will next appear in Focker-In-Law alongside Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro, out this November, and will also appear on the upcoming season of American Horror Story. And in 2027 (yes, she’s booked out that far), she will make her debut on London’s West End in a revival of Sunday in the Park With George alongside fellow Wicked castmate Jonathan Bailey.