Smokey Robinson’s Victory Lap Upended by Allegations of Sexual Assault

At 85, Motown Smokey Robinson’s legend was on a celebration tour. With a new album to promote, he shared the stage with Bruce Springsteen last month, he acted last week at “Jimmy Kimmel Live” of ABC! “And it was in the middle of a series of live dates in the United States and the United Kingdom.

“I feel wonderful,” Tonight told Entertainment in a recent interview. “I pray every night before continuing, we can be entertaining and edifying for the people who are there.”

But on Tuesday, the return of the victory of Mr. Robinson turned away when four women who had worked as housewives for him filed a lawsuit that accused him of sexual assault, claiming in the demand that abused the doses of time for many years.

The demand, presented in Los Angeles, identifies women only as Jane 1 to 4. each accuses Mr. Robinson to violate them repeatedly while they were employed by cleaning their home in Chatsworth, a neighborhood in Los Angeles, as well as in their other homes in Ventura County, California, and Las Vegas.

Three of the women said they were afraid of Mr. Robinson to the authorities due to their immigration status, according to the demand, which are also the batteries of Mr. Robinson and his wife for false imprisonment, creating a hostile work environment and not paying a minimum salary.

Late in Wednesday night, in a statement to New York Times, a lawyer from Mr. Robinson described the demand “an ugly method of trying to extract money from an 85 -year -old American icon.” The lawyer, Christopher Frost, described the accusations in the “false” demand and “Vile.”

The demand goes into graphic details about abuse statements.

Court’s documents say Mr. Robinson would leave his wife in the nail room and hurry to assault a woman while she was alone. A second woman, says the demand, had worked for the Robinson from 2014 to 2020 and had been assaulted by Mr. Robinson at least 23 times that changed that period. The demand says that a third woman who worked for the Robinson from 2012 to 2024 reported having been attacked by Sexum by Mr. Robinson at least 20 times. A fourth woman says in the demand she worked for the couple from 2006 to April 2024 and that Mr. Robinson had been assaulted by Mr. Robinson in several of her houses.

The lawyers of the plaintiffs, who did not immediately provide additional details on the case on Wednesday, have not said if their clients intended to present criminal charges. A spokesman for the department of the Los Angeles County Sheriff, who covers the area where the demand said that incidents had occurred, said the department was not investigating the accusations that part of a civil matter. The law enforcement agencies in other municipalities where, in accordance with the lawsuit, they occurred, they said they had no record of assault reports.

Mr. Frost said that he and his legal team soon a judge will dismiss the lawsuit and “will have more to say on this matter.”

“We ask anyone to follow this case that reserves the trial as the evidence comes to light and all the real facts of the case are developed,” Frost said in the statement.

Public records show that Mr. Robinson has been accused in a handful of civil lawsuits over the years, for disputes that include breach of contract, copyright problems and royalty payments.

Mr. Robinson was Royalty from Motown, writing and performing some of the most beloved successes in the catalog with the miracles. He wrote (alone and with others) classic songs that include “Shop Around”, “You really have a Hold on Me”, “The Packs of My Tears”, “Going to a go-go”, “Second That Emotion” and “The Tears of a Clown”. Hey also wrote co -written many successes for other artists, including “My girl”, for temptations and “My Guy”, for Mary Wells.

Even when he has become an octogenarian, Mr. Robinson, who has been honored over the years by the Recording Academy, the Kennedy Center and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, among many others, has been prolific. He launched a study album in 2023 called “Gasms” that was full of sensual clues, an effort that caught the renewed attention of some fans on social networks on Wednesday.

“” Gasm “is a good feeling that I could have,” he told Mr. Kimmel.

Now, Mr. Robinson, who is attributed more than 4,000 songs, is out with a new album entitled “What the world needs now” and participates in a media bombardment to promote it.

It is scheduled to play a show on Friday in Biloxi, Miss., In a 1,600 seat theater. Representatives of the concert scene did not respond on Wednesday to comments requests.

When asked about the title of the new album in the interview with Entertainment Tonight, Mr. Robinson said: “He is so appropriate, man. What the world needs now is love.”

Kitty Bennett Contributed research.