Smokey Robinson Sued for Sexual Battery by 4 Former Housekeepers

Four former housekeepers of Smokey Robinson allege in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that the Motown music luminary repeatedly sexually assaulted and raped them while they worked for him.

via: EW

Four women, all identified as Jane Doe, filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles on Tuesday claiming that Robinson sexually assaulted them during their time working as housekeepers in his home in the Chatsworth neighborhood. The complaint, which has been reviewed by Entertainment Weekly, also accuses the singer of assault, false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress, gender violence, creating a hostile work environment, and several labor code violations.

The complaint also names the singer's wife, Frances Robinson, as a defendant, alleging that she "perpetuated a hostile work environment" and "failed to take the appropriate corrective action to prevent" her husband's "deviant misconduct."

The plaintiffs are seeking at least $50 million in damages. "We believe that Mr. Robinson is a serial and sick rapist, and must be stopped," the plaintiffs' attorney, John Harris, said at a press conference on Tuesday. When asked about the amount of damages, the lawyer responded, "We wanted to get his attention. It's a serious matter, and the assaults against these women were horrendous and despicable. Hence, a big number."

Representatives for Smokey Robinson did not immediately respond to EW's request for comment.

"Our four clients have a common thread: they're Hispanic women who were employed as housekeepers by the Robinsons earning below minimum wage," Hayden said at the press conference. "As low wage workers in vulnerable positions, they lacked the resources and options necessary to protect themselves from sexual assault throughout their tenure as employees for the Robinsons."

Jane Doe 1 worked for the Robinsons from January 2023 to February 2024, according to the complaint. She claims that Smokey Robinson sexually assaulted her at least seven times.

The complaint claims that Jane Doe 2 worked for the couple from May 2014 to February 2020, and that during that period, the musician's "brutal sexual advances" became "constant and even predictable" after 2016. The suit alleges that Robinson would "summon" Doe 2 to areas of his home in the blindspots of his closed-circuit cameras, and ultimately sexually assaulted her at least 23 times.

Jane Doe 3 allegedly worked for the Robinsons from February 2012 to April 2024. The complaint claims that the singer "raped" Doe 3 at least 20 times, and at one point offered her $500 for oral sex.

The lawsuit alleges that Jane Doe 4, who says she worked for the couple from October 2006 until April 2024, was first sexually assaulted by the singer at his Las Vegas home in 2007, and again at his Bell Canyon residence in 2019. Doe 4 claims that Robinson also "raped" her at his Chatsworth home.

The complaint also claims that all four of the women did not report Robinson's alleged actions to the authorities due to "fear of losing [their] livelihood, familial reprisal, public embarrassment, shame and humiliation" to themselves and their families, as well as feeling "threatened and intimidated" by the singer's "well-recognized celebrity status and his influential friends and associates." Does 1, 2, and 3 also said that they feared a "possible adverse effect on [their] immigration status."

In addition to their allegations of the musician's misconduct, per the complaint all four women also accused Frances Robinson of creating a hostile work environment and using "ethnically pejorative words and language." They also accused both Robinsons of refusing to provide lunch or rest breaks during their employment, as well as failure to pay minimum wage and overtime wages.