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 Pictures for The Recording Academy )
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4 girls are accusing R&B legend Smokey Robinson of sexual battery, rape and different offenses in a criticism for damages filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court docket Tuesday.
The criticism says the 4, unnamed girls had been housekeepers of the Robinsons on the time of the alleged misconduct. Robinson’s spouse Frances Robinson can be named.
The criticism 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 in opposition to her.” The opposite girls are additionally alleging a number of sexual assaults, stretching again to no less than 2007.
The plaintiffs are represented by the legislation agency Harris & Hayden. The criticism says the ladies are additionally accusing Smokey Robinson of false imprisonment, emotional misery and gender violence. Allegations in opposition to 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 referred to as Smokey Robinson a “serial assaulter” and stated the ladies saved quiet in regards to the alleged misconduct out of worry, as a result of they had been low-wage staff “dwelling paycheck to paycheck” and had been “intimidated” by Robinson’s superstar. He additionally stated the ladies had 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 stories.
As the previous frontman of The Miracles, Robinson, who’s 85, is liable for a few of Motown’s greatest hits together with “The Tears of a Clown” and “I Second That Emotion.” Robinson ultimately grew to become Motown Data’ vp.
Jennifer Vanasco edited this story.