Smokey Robinson denies “vile” and “false” rape allegations

Smokey Robinson has responded to accusations of sexual assault, calling them “vile” and “false”.

On Tuesday (May 6), a lawsuit was submitted against singer and ex-Motown Records executive Robinson and his wife. The 85-year-old was alleged to have committed sexual battery, assault, false imprisonment, gender violence and creating a hostile work environment against four former housekeepers for the couple between 2007 to April 2024. The pair are being sued for a total of $50million (£37.5million) in damages.

Now, Robinson has responded to the lawsuit through his attorney. In a statement to Rolling Stone, lawyer Christopher Frost said he would demonstrate the lawsuit “is simply an ugly method of trying to extract money from an 85-year-old American icon — $50 million, to be exact.”

He also accused the plaintiff’s legal team of using “bizarre theatrics” during a news conference on Tuesday, adding that the “vile, false allegations against Mr. and Mrs. Robinson” were made to “enlist the public as an unwitting participant in the media circus they are trying to create.”

Frost requested readers “reserve judgment as the evidence comes to light”, going on to say he would expose “the numerous aspects of the complaint that defy credulity as well as issues relating to purported timelines, inconsistencies, and relationships between the plaintiffs and others.” Frost also claimed the plaintiff’s attorneys had gone “beyond the bounds of liberties that even lawyers are typically allowed in this context” in their statements to the press, and that Robinson himself would be responding to the allegations soon.

In the suit, Robinson is accused of unconsensual “sexual contact” and “touching” on the alleged victims’ “entire bodies, including their vaginas, breasts, legs, abdomen, lips, and face”.

They additionally accused Robinson’s wife of failing to prevent his alleged behviour, despite claims that she had “full knowledge of his prior acts of sexual misconduct, having settled cases with other women that suffered and experienced similar sexual assaults perpetuated by him”.

The couple were also claimed to have underpaid the housekeepers, and wife Frances was accused of “regularly screaming at them separately in a hostile manner, using ethnically pejorative words and language”.

The plaintiffs claim that they “suffered and continue to suffer economic damages, as well as severe emotional and physical harm, humiliation, distress, embarrassment, and anxiety as a result of Robinson’s conduct”.

In a press conference, the plaintiff’s attorney John Harris said (via The Guardian): “They’re Hispanic women who were employed by the Robinsons earning below minimum wage. As low-wage women in vulnerable positions, they lacked the resources and options necessary to protect themselves from sexual assaults.”

No police reports or criminal charges have been filed against Robinson, it has been reported.

Smokey Robinson is due to play his first UK shows in over 15 years this summer. He’s scheduled to make an appearance at the Love Supreme Festival, and perform headline concerts in Glasgow, Birmingham, Cardiff and London.

For more help, advice or more information regarding sexual harassment, assault and rape in the UK, visit the Rape Crisis charity website. In the US, visit RAINN.

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