By the time Smokey Robinson performed “Cruisin’” near the end of his concert at the Beau Rivage Theater on Friday night, the mutual admiration was in full display between the Motown icon and a revering audience of nearly 1,600 people, with no mention made of the sexual assault allegations levied against him this week.
Mr. Robinson had long discarded the jacket from the sparkling green suit and the tie he had begun the night with.
“Do you know what you volunteered for?” he asked one woman he invited onstage.
“We’ll be right back,” Mr. Robinson said when she answered that she had freely agreed to join him in front of the audience, and he took a few steps pretending to accompany her backstage. He then implored her to get the audience to sing “Cruisin’” lyrics with them.
Mr. Robinson, 85, smiled widely throughout a festive set, dancing suggestively while performing many of his landmark songs as part of a tour celebrating the 50th anniversary of his album “A Quiet Storm” and the release of a new album, “What the World Needs Now.”
He proceeded with the concert just days after four women who worked as housekeepers for Mr. Robinson claimed in a lawsuit that he had repeatedly sexually abused them for years at his homes in California and Nevada. Three of the women did not report the allegations sooner over fear of their immigration status, the lawsuit states.
The suit argues that Mr. Robinson created a hostile work environment and demanded they work long hours without receiving minimum wage. It also claims that Mr. Robinson’s wife, Frances Robinson, knew of the assaults but did not to stop them.
A lawyer for Mr. Robinson, Christopher Frost, said he would argue for the lawsuit’s dismissal, calling it “an ugly method of trying to extract money from an 85-year-old American icon” in a statement to The New York Times.
The women are only identified as Jane Does 1 through 4 in the lawsuit filed in Superior Court in Los Angeles on Tuesday.
“We stand behind our four clients’ truthful claims, which are neither false nor vile but clearly describe Mr. Robinson’s despicable criminal acts,” their lawyer, John Harris, said in a statement on Tuesday.
No mention of the lawsuit was made during Friday’s show. Mr. Robinson received a rose from a spectator during the set. He paused to take a selfie with another audience member, doubling back when she said that she did not capture the photo the first time, and received an extended ovation at the end of the performance.
Mr. Robinson starred in the Motown group the Miracles and performed many of the songs — “The Tears of a Clown,” “I Second That Emotion,” “My Girl” and “You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me” — he helped create that are threaded with some of the most endearing soul music ever created.
Friday’s performance included songs from “Gasms,” his 2023 album of love songs. He interspersed the show with personal recollections of working in Motown and joked that Stevie Wonder had once been so motivated to collaborate that the blind musical pioneer had offered to drive him to the studio.
Clara Mecum said that she had come to hear Mr. Robinson’s songs and that the lawsuit did not affect her enjoyment.
“I paid over $100 to see him,” she said. “I didn’t care. I really love him.”
Sandra Thames attended the performance with her son, David Rucker, after the pair drove three hours on a rainy afternoon. They relished the performance and the enthusiasm Mr. Robinson brought to the stage.
“That has no bearing on the show,” Ms. Thames said of the lawsuit. “Whatever happened, if it happened, it’ll come to the light, I believe.”
Liz Moran, who had brought her mom to the show as a Mother’s Day present, said she was unaware of the allegations, so they had no effect on her appreciation of the show. “I liked all the oldies,” she said. “I enjoyed it.”
Mr. Robinson was enshrined as a solo artist in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1987 and has been honored by the Recording Academy and the Kennedy Center.
His next performance is scheduled for May 31 at the Capitol Theater in Port Chester, N.Y.
Jonathan Abrams writes about the intersections of sports and culture and the changing cultural scenes in the South.
The post After Allegations, Smokey Robinson Show Goes On as Planned appeared first on New York Times.
