Motown Legend Smokey Robinson, 85, Accused of Sexual Assault by Four Women

By

Joshua Rhett Miller is a Newsweek chief investigative reporter based in New York. His areas of focus include U.S. politics, immigration and society, as well as crime, education and technology. In 2024, Joshua joined Newsweek following roles at the New York Post, FoxNews.com and Fox News Channel, where he worked as an associate producer for “Shepard Smith Reporting.” He also has extensive experience covering national and international breaking news, including terror attacks, COVID-related topics and live reports from the United States-Mexico border. The graduate of Pennsylvania State University can be reached at j.miller@newsweek.com.

Chief Investigative Reporter

Voice is AI-generated. Inconsistencies may occur.

Smokey Robinson and his wife have been accused of a wide array of misconduct, including sexual battery, assault, false imprisonment and creating a hostile work environment.

Four women who previously worked for the legendary Motown singer filed a civil complaint Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleging the 85-year-old musician forcefully touched them without consent, according to court documents seen by Newsweek.

The women, who were employed as housekeepers at Robinson’s home in Chatsworth, California, were allegedly victimized during incidents spanning between 2007 and April 2024. They filed the lawsuit using pseudonyms to “protect their privacy because it involves sexual misconduct” by Robinson, court documents show.

Robinson’s 85-year-old wife, Frances Robinson, is also named in the suit, which seeks $50 million in damages.

“Plaintiffs explicitly told defendant Robinson on numerous occasions that they were not interested in his advances and objected to his forceful, physical, sexual, and harmful conduct,” the complaint reads.

The women claim Robinson regularly touched their “entire bodies,” including their vaginas and breasts, without their consent. Robinson’s wife also did nothing to stop the alleged sexual misconduct despite having “full knowledge” of his actions, according to the lawsuit.

One woman, identified as Jane Doe 1 in the 27-page lawsuit, claims she was first sexually assaulted in March 2023, continuing until her forced resignation in February 2024. On a typical Saturday, Robinson would take his wife to a nail salon and then rush home, knowing he’d be alone with the woman, the lawsuit alleges.

“Upon returning home, defendant Smokey Robinson would call her into his blue bedroom, lock the door and escort their dog Shilo out of the room,” the filing reads. “He will have showered and clothed only in his underwear. He would then neatly place a white towel on his bed, not to soil the bed linens, in preparation for what was about to occur.”

Robinson would then start to kiss the woman on her mouth, neck and breasts before penetrating her vagina digitally, orally copulate her and “penetrate her vagina with his erect penis causing her great pain,” the lawsuit continues. “Defendant Smokey Robinson enjoyed ejaculating in her vagina without using a condom.”

The woman said she would protest and resist Robinson’s sexual assaults, reminding him he was married. She claims Robinson sexually assaulted her in that manner at least seven times, most recently in February 2024, according to the filing.

‘Hostile Work Environment’

Frances Robinson also “perpetuated a hostile work environment” by consistently screaming at the women and using “ethnically pejorative words and language,” the filing claims.

The four women alleged Robinson and his wife also didn’t pay them minimum wage or overtime if their shifts extended beyond eight hours. One former housekeeper identified as Jane Doe 4 said she regularly traveled with the couple and did not get paid.

The victims didn’t previously report Robinson due to fears of losing their livelihoods or other concerns, including public embarrassment, possible impact on immigration status or the potential of being threatened or intimidated by Robinson’s “celebrity status and his influential friends and associates,” the complaint states.

Attorneys from Harris & Hayden Law Firm were expected to hold a press conference Tuesday afternoon in Los Angeles, according to KTTV.

Representatives for Robinson have not yet responded to the accusations, according to KTLA.

Robinson, who rose to fame as part of The Miracles, released his latest album, “What the World Needs Now,” on April 25.

Slide Circle to Vote

No
Moderately
Yes

VOTE