Smokey Robinson performs onstage through the sixty fifth GRAMMY Awards at Crypto.com Area on February 05, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Picture by Kevin Winter/Getty Photographs for The Recording Academy )
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4 ladies are accusing R&B legend Smokey Robinson of sexual battery, rape and different offenses in a grievance for damages filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court docket Tuesday.
The grievance says the 4, unnamed ladies had been housekeepers of the Robinsons on the time of the alleged misconduct. Robinson’s spouse Frances Robinson can be named.
The grievance alleges that Jane Doe 1, who was a housekeeper for the Robinsons from January 2023 to February 2024, was compelled to resign because of Smokey Robinson’s “repeated sexual assaults and sexual harassment towards her.” The opposite ladies are additionally alleging a number of sexual assaults, stretching again to at the very least 2007.
The plaintiffs are represented by the legislation agency Harris & Hayden. The grievance says the ladies are additionally accusing Smokey Robinson of false imprisonment, emotional misery and gender violence. Allegations towards each embody emotional misery and unlawful working situations.
NPR has not but obtained a response from Robinson’s representatives.
At a press convention Tuesday afternoon, legal professional John Harris known as Smokey Robinson a “serial assaulter” and mentioned the ladies stored quiet concerning the alleged misconduct out of worry, as a result of they had been low-wage employees “residing paycheck to paycheck” and had been “intimidated” by Robinson’s superstar. He additionally mentioned the ladies had been threatened, however didn’t specify the character of the threats. The ladies are additionally being represented by Herbert Hayden.
The ladies’s attorneys are searching for a complete of $50 million in damages. They are saying the ladies haven’t but filed police reviews.
As the previous frontman of The Miracles, Robinson, who’s 85, is answerable for a few of Motown’s greatest hits together with “The Tears of a Clown” and “I Second That Emotion.” Robinson ultimately turned Motown Data’ vice chairman.
Jennifer Vanasco edited this story.
