Smokey Robinson, accused of rape by ex-staff, information defamation lawsuit – Nationwide

NOTE: The next article incorporates disturbing particulars of sexual assault. Please learn at your personal discretion.

Music legend Smokey Robinson is suing 4 of his former staff for defamation after they filed a lawsuit in opposition to the singer in early Might accusing him of sexual assault and rape.

Robinson and his spouse, Frances Gladney, countersued the group of housekeepers in Los Angeles on Wednesday, accusing the ladies of false claims of sexual assault as a part of an “extortionate” lawsuit.

The Motown legend’s accusers say they had been afraid to return ahead till now over fears of dropping their livelihoods and immigration standing — all 4 plaintiffs are immigrants of Hispanic descent.

The accusers, who filed their nameless swimsuit in Los Angeles Superior Courtroom, are searching for at the very least US$50 million in damages. The ladies say they skilled abuse between 2007 and 2024, and labour violations together with a hostile work surroundings, illegally lengthy hours and lack of pay.

The singer has denied the allegations and is presently beneath investigation for sexual assault. His attorneys argue that the complainants are after his cash.

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The couple claims that the ladies accompanied them on household holidays and celebrated holidays collectively.

“The Robinsons didn’t abuse, hurt, or reap the benefits of plaintiffs; they handled plaintiffs with the utmost kindness and generosity,” their lawsuit states.

Robinson’s attorneys have additionally filed a movement to dismiss the accusers’ lawsuit on the idea that they need to not have been granted anonymity.

The accusers filed on Might 6 as Jane Doe 1, 2, 3 and 4.

The prolonged authorized doc refers to at the very least 50 separate alleged incidents of rape, courting again nearly 20 years, the place Robinson is accused of forcing his former workers into intercourse.

Jane Doe 1, who was employed in January 2023, claimed she was left with no selection however to resign in February 2024 after experiencing quite a few assaults.

Based on the submitting, she would work by herself on the household dwelling on weekends. On Saturdays, Robinson would take his spouse to the nail salon after which rush dwelling to be alone with Jane Doe 1.

“Upon returning dwelling, Defendant Smokey Robinson would name her into his blue bed room, lock the door and escort their canine Shilo out of the room. He could have showered and clothed solely in his underwear. He would then neatly place a white towel on his mattress, to not soil the mattress linens, in preparation for what was about to happen,” the lawsuit states, including that he would “roughly penetrate” her, inflicting “nice ache.”

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The plaintiff says she protested and tried to flee his assaults, to no avail. Based on the lawsuit, Jane Doe 1 was assaulted in such a fashion at the very least seven instances.

Equally, Jane Doe 2 resigned from her place in 2020, following years of alleged assaults that she says began in 2016.

The submitting says Robinson started summoning her by way of textual content message to areas of his residence not beneath safety digicam surveillance, together with the storage, the laundry room and his blue bed room, the place he would pressure himself upon her and rape her, allegedly on 23 events.

If Jane Doe 2 protested, Robinson would threaten her, saying he would get his spouse to “be imply” to her, the submitting states, including that his spouse had data of the abuse and didn’t act.

Jane Doe 3, who labored for the Robinsons for 12 years from 2012 till 2024, when she resigned, claims to have been sexually assaulted by the musician for nearly everything of her tenure. On one event, he provided her $500 in change for oral intercourse, a proposition she says she refused, in keeping with court docket paperwork. She claims to have been raped by Robinson at the very least 20 instances.

Jane Doe 4 says she was compelled to resign in 2024, having labored for the household since 2006, as a result of repeated sexual assaults by Robinson, together with rape and every day harassment.

Robinson, a member of each the Rock & Roll Corridor of Fame and the Songwriters Corridor of Fame, was among the many greatest hitmakers of the Sixties, each together with his group the Miracles and as a solo artist, with songs together with Tears of a Clown and The Tracks of My Tears.

He was a central a part of the Motown Information music machine in his hometown of Detroit as an artist, producer and songwriter for different artists.

— With information from The Related Press

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