Smokey Robinson's lawyer says rape allegations against him are 'vile' and 'false'

LOS ANGELES – Smokey Robinson's lawyer said allegations of rape and intersexual battle against him successful a suit from 4 erstwhile housekeepers are “vile" and “false.”

Attorney Christopher Frost said successful a connection Wednesday that the grounds “will amusement that this is simply an disfigured method of trying to extract wealth from an 85-year-old American icon.”

The suit filed successful Los Angeles Superior Court connected Tuesday against the Motown euphony luminary seeks astatine slightest $50 cardinal successful damages implicit the alleged assaults, which the women accidental took spot betwixt 2007 and 2024. Robinson's wife, Frances Robinson, is besides named arsenic a suspect for allegedly enabling his behaviour and creating an abusive enactment environment.

“We volition beryllium addressing the galore aspects of the ailment that defy credulity arsenic good arsenic issues relating to purported timelines, inconsistencies, and relationships betwixt the plaintiffs and others,” Frost's connection said.

The 4 women each allege that Smokey Robinson would hold until helium was unsocial with them successful his Los Angeles location and past sexually battle and rape them implicit their objections, successful immoderate cases for galore years.

“We judge that Mr. Robinson is simply a serial and sick rapist, and indispensable beryllium stopped,” the women’s lawyer John Harris said astatine a quality league Tuesday.

The Associated Press doesn’t place radical who accidental they person been sexually assaulted unless they publically place themselves. The women, whose names are withheld successful the lawsuit, appeared with their lawyers astatine the quality conference. They didn't speak, and they covered their faces with masks.

Frost called the quality league “bizarre theatrics,” and an effort to “enlist the nationalist arsenic an unwitting subordinate successful the media circus they are trying to create. We inquire anyone pursuing this lawsuit to reserve judgement arsenic the grounds comes to airy and each the existent facts of the lawsuit unfold.”

One pistillate said that she worked for Robinson from 2012 until 2024, and was assaulted astatine slightest 20 times successful that span. Another said that she worked for him from 2014 until 2020, and was assaulted astatine slightest 23 times.

All of the accusers said they yet discontinue implicit the assaults, though successful immoderate cases it took respective years. And each said they feared coming guardant implicit fears of retaliation, nationalist shame and imaginable effects connected their migration status. The aforesaid fears person kept the women from going to constabulary to study Robinson, their lawyers said, though they besides said they judge transgression probe is warranted.

The suit seeks damages based connected intersexual battery, assault, mendacious imprisonment, sex unit and different allegations.

Frost said that Robinson would soon code the allegations himself, and that they would beryllium asking the tribunal to disregard the lawsuit.

Robinson, a subordinate of some the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame, was among the biggest hitmakers of the 1960s arsenic a cardinal portion of the Motown Records instrumentality — some with his radical the Miracles and arsenic a solo artist, with songs including “Tears of a Clown" and “The Tracks of My Tears."

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