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 Photos for The Recording Academy )
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Kevin Winter/The Recording Academy/Getty Photos
4 girls 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 Courtroom Tuesday.
The grievance says the 4, unnamed girls have 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 pressured to resign on account of Smokey Robinson’s “repeated sexual assaults and sexual harassment towards her.” The opposite girls are additionally alleging a number of sexual assaults, stretching again to not less than 2007.
The plaintiffs are represented by the regulation 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 acquired 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 in regards to the alleged misconduct out of worry, as a result of they have been low-wage staff “dwelling paycheck to paycheck” and have been “intimidated” by Robinson’s superstar. He additionally mentioned the ladies have been threatened, however didn’t specify the character of the threats. The ladies are additionally being represented by Herbert Hayden.
The girls’s attorneys are in search of a complete of $50 million in damages. They are saying the ladies haven’t but filed police experiences.
As the previous frontman of The Miracles, Robinson, who’s 85, is accountable for a few of Motown’s largest hits together with “The Tears of a Clown” and “I Second That Emotion.” Robinson finally turned Motown Data’ vice chairman.
Jennifer Vanasco edited this story.
