Four former housekeepers for Motown legend Smokey Robinson have accused him of sexual assault, alleging in a lawsuit that he repeatedly abused some of them for years.
The suit, filed Tuesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, alleges that the assaults largely occurred at Robinson’s home in Chatsworth, California, northwest of downtown Los Angeles.
The plaintiffs, identified in the 27-page complaint as Jane Does 1-4, are seeking damages totaling no less than $50 million, according to the complaint.
“Obviously, no amount can compensate these women for what Mr. Robinson subjected them to,” one of their lawyers, John Harris, told reporters Tuesday.
But given the gravity of Robinson’s alleged misconduct, Harris said, “this amount is clearly warranted.”
Representatives for Robinson, whose real name is William Robinson Jr., did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Wearing masks to protect their privacy, three of the women appeared in person at a news conference in Los Angeles. A fourth attended remotely. Harris said there was a common thread between them.
They “were Hispanic women employed as housekeepers earning below minimum wage,” Harris said. “As low-wage workers in vulnerable positions they lacked the resources and options to protect themselves.”
They did not come forward previously because they feared missing a paycheck, he said. Some of the plaintiffs worked for Robinson at the same time, Harris said, though they were too embarrassed to reveal the alleged assaults.
Breaking that silence prompted an “avalanche of emotion,” he added.
The suit alleges that Robinson assaulted one woman at least 23 times between May 2014 and February 2020, often in places in his home without security cameras.
The suit alleges that he assaulted another former employee at least 20 times during the 12 years she worked for him, beginning in 2012. According to the suit, Robinson would force her into his bedroom and perform a “ritual” of leaving his bathroom naked or nearly naked.
According to the suit, Robinson would then place a towel on his bed so the linens would not be soiled “for what was about to occur.”
The suit states that he subjected two other plaintiffs to the same behavior. One of the former housekeepers worked for Robinson for 13 months, a period during which she accused the singer of assaulting her at least seven times.
“In a desperate attempt to him to stop his sexual assaults,” the suit says of this plaintiff, “she would proclaim ‘you’re married.’”
The suit accuses Robinson of ignoring her pleas.
According to the suit, another plaintiff said that if she refused to have sex with Robinson, he would allegedly threaten to have his wife, Frances Robinson, be “mean” to the employee.
All of the plaintiffs accused Frances Robinson, who is also named as a defendant, of perpetuating a hostile work environment by screaming at them and using ethnically pejorative language.
Another former housekeeper who later worked as Frances Robinson’s personal assistant, cook and hairdresser accused Smokey Robinson of first assaulting her in 2007 at the singer’s Las Vegas home, according to the suit.
The suit accuses Robinson of assaulting the woman, identified as JD4, more than a decade later, at a temporary home in Bell Canyon and at his home in Chatsworth.
“When the other housekeeper(s) would leave the residence, Defendant Smokey Robinson would summon her to his blue bedroom while sitting naked on his bed,” the suit states. “He would then lock the door and place a towel down on the bed. After doing so, he would pull JD4’s clothes off, and against her protestations, push her down on the bed and proceed to rape her.”
Robinson never wore a condom during the assaults, according to the suit.
In addition to losing their incomes, the suit says the plaintiffs did not report Robinson to authorities for fear of reprisal and public embarrassment. Three said they were worried about possible adverse effects on their immigration status.
Robinson was a pioneer for Motown Records, founding the vocal group the Miracles in the 1950s and later releasing albums as a solo artist and working as a record executive for the label. Robinson was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.
The post Motown legend Smokey Robinson is accused of sexual assault by 4 housekeepers in lawsuit appeared first on NBC News.
