Smokey Robinson files $500m defamation case against rape accusers
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(Credit: Smokey Robinson Facebook)
Motown legend Smokey Robinson has filed a $500 million cross-complaint for defamation and elder abuse against four women who have sued him with claims of rape and sexual harrassment.
The suit was filed against Robinson and his wife, Frances, and details dozens of incidents of rape and sexual assault. All four women worked as housekeepers for the couple at their California residence, with the alleged assaults taking place between 2007 and 2024.
The women filed anonymously as Jane Does in the civil suit and are seeking a minimum of $50 million in damages. As they filed a police report, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department opened a criminal investigation into Robinson. Now, Robinson has filed his own suit against the four women for ten times the amount.
“The depths of plaintiffs’ avarice and greed knows no bounds. During the very time that the Robinsons were being extraordinarily generous with plaintiffs, plaintiffs were concocting an extortionate plan to take everything from the Robinsons (everything over and above what they were freely given) and wrongfully destroy the Robinsons’ well-built reputations,” a 19-page complaint from Robinson’s team obtained by Rolling Stone says.
Robinson’s team has also moved to remove the anonymity of the four accusers. In a related motion filed on May 28th, Robinson and his wife ordered the complaint be re-filed with their legal names, not Jane Doe pseudonyms. “The allegations in the complaint are so far removed from the truth that the Robinsons cannot identify which Doe is whom,” the motion states.
The musician performed his first show since word of the controversy at Beau Rivage Theatre on May 9th, at which he made no mention of the lawsuit. Rather, he joked about taking a fan backstage.
For 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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