Four former housekeepers of American soul singer-songwriter Smokey Robinson allege in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that the Motown music luminary repeatedly sexually assaulted and raped them while they worked for him.
The suit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court seeks at least $50 million in damages over the alleged assaults, which the women say took place between 2007 and 2024, and labour violations including a hostile work environment, illegally long hours and lack of pay.
The four women each say that Robinson, 85, would wait until he was alone with them in his Los Angeles house then sexually assault and rape them over their objections.
“We believe that Mr. Robinson is a serial and sick rapist, and must be stopped,” the women’s attorney John Harris said at a news conference.
All said they eventually quit over the assaults, though in some cases it took several years, and that they feared coming forward over fears of retaliation, public shame and possible effects on their immigration status.
“Having to tell their husbands and children of these despicable actions left them filled with shame and embarrassment,” Harris said. “So throughout their dreadful experiences with Mr. Robinson, all four women remained silent.”
He added that as low-wage earners, they also all feared “missing a payday, and not being able to afford rent or buy food for their families.”
All four women withheld their legal names citing privacy concerns and are identified as Jane Does in court documents. They appeared at the news conference with their attorneys, but did not speak, and covered their faces with masks.
The lawsuit also names Robinson’s wife Frances Robinson as a defendant, alleging that she enabled his behaviour despite knowing about past sexual misconduct. It also blames her for the hostile work environment, saying she berated them with language that included ethnic slurs.
One woman said she worked for the Robinsons from 2012 until 2024, and was assaulted at least 20 times in that span. Another said she worked for them from 2014 until 2020, and was assaulted at least 23 times.
“Obviously, no amount of money can compensate these women for what Mr. Robinson put them through,” Harris said. But he said the $50 million was warranted “based on the gravity of Mr. Robinson’s despicable and reprehensible misconduct.”
Plaintiffs’ attorney Herbert Hayden said that while they felt the assaults are worthy of criminal investigation, the women have not filed police reports, based on the same fears that kept them from coming forward.
Robinson, a member of both the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame, was among the biggest hitmakers of the 1960s — both with his group the Miracles and as a solo artist, with songs including ‘Tears of a Clown’ and ‘The Tracks of My Tears’.