Smokey Robinson’s attorney plans to ask the court to dismiss a lawsuit filed this week against the singer by four former employees. The women are seeking at least $50 million, accusing Robinson of repeated sexual misconduct and alleging he and his wife, Frances, violated labor laws.
“We will have more to say in the coming days as we make our legal response, and in time Mr. Robinson will respond in his own words,” attorney Christopher Frost said in a Wednesday statement to The Times. “As this case progresses, the evidence (the crucial element that guides us) will show that this is simply an ugly method of trying to extract money from an 85-year-old American icon — $50 million dollars, to be exact.”
Frost, a founding partner of Frost LLP, called the allegations “vile” and “false” and said “numerous aspects of the complaint … defy credulity.” The legal response seeking dismissal will address “issues relating to purported timelines, inconsistencies, and relationships between the plaintiffs and others,” he said.
“We ask anyone following this case to reserve judgment as the evidence comes to light and all the actual facts of the case unfold,” Frost said.
The civil suit, filed Tuesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, accuses the Robinsons of negligence, sexual battery and sexual assault, false imprisonment, intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress, gender violence, and hostile work environment, in addition to a host of labor violations related to wages, breaks, meal periods, and holiday and overtime pay.
“I am appalled,” Smokey Robinson told the Daily Mail in a phone call Wednesday before reportedly devolving into mumbles about being contacted at home. “I can’t speak about this right now,” he added.
The women are suing under the pseudonyms Jane Doe 1 through 4 because of the sexual misconduct allegations, including rape, that are leveled against the lead singer of Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, the lawsuit says. Three are former housekeepers and one was the singer’s personal assistant, cook and hairdresser, per court documents reviewed by The Times.
Jane Doe 1 worked for the Robinsons from January 2023 until February 2024. Jane Doe 2 worked from May 2014 to February 2020. Jane Doe 3 worked from February 2012 to April 2024. Jane Doe 4 worked from October 2006 to April 2024.
All four women allege in the lawsuit that he “summoned” them to various places at his homes in Chatsworth, Ventura County’s Bell Canyon and Las Vegas when his wife wasn’t around. Sometimes emerging naked from a shower, he forced them to have various types of sex with them — vaginal, oral and digital — over a number of years, the lawsuit says.
They accuse Frances Robinson, who married Smokey in 2002, of “regularly screaming … in a hostile manner, using ethnically pejorative words and language” toward them. They say in the documents that she knew what her husband was doing and failed to rein him in.
One plaintiff said she didn’t want to report the alleged activities because she was afraid of losing her job and being publicly shamed. She also worried about her immigration status and threats and intimidation due to Robinson’s celebrity status and “influential friends and associates,” the lawsuit says. Those sentiments, with or without the immigration issue, were echoed by the other plaintiffs.
The plaintiffs say in the lawsuit that they quit because of the alleged sexual misconduct and hostile work environment.
All four say in the complaint that they worked 10 hours a day, six days a week for the Robinsons but were not paid minimum wage or overtime. They also worked holidays without receiving a holiday rate, the lawsuit says. The housekeepers made between $10 and $18 an hour while the assistant made $15 an hour before getting a raise to $20 an hour.
Minimum wage in California was $6.75 per hour in 2006 and increased gradually over the years. In 2024, it was $16 per hour for those not working for large fast-food chains. In Los Angeles County in July 2024, the minimum wage was $17.27 per hour, while the minimum in Las Vegas was $12 per hour.
“We will have more to say on this matter,” attorney Frost said in his statement, “as we fiercely defend our clients against these false allegations and work to protect their good names.”
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