Four women who worked as housekeepers for Smokey Robinson have accused the renowned Motown singer of sexual assault, claiming in a new lawsuit that he abused them dozens of times over many years while his wife turned a blind eye and berated them.
The suit, filed in Los Angeles on Tuesday, identifies the women only as Jane Does 1 through 4. They each accuse Mr. Robinson, 85, of raping them repeatedly while they were employed cleaning his homes in Los Angeles; Ventura County, Calif.; and Las Vegas.
All the while, the suit said, Mr. Robinson’s wife, Frances Robinson, failed to prevent her husband from assaulting the women despite knowing about his sexual misconduct.
Three of the women feared reporting Mr. Robinson to the authorities because of their immigration status, according to the lawsuit, which also accuses the Robinsons of false imprisonment, creating a hostile work environment and failure to pay minimum wage.
Mr. Robinson’s representatives did not immediately return requests for comment.
“Our four clients have a common thread,” John Harris, a lawyer for the women, said at a news conference in Los Angeles on Tuesday. “They’re Hispanic women who were employed as housekeepers by the Robinsons, earning below minimum wage.”
“As low-wage workers in vulnerable positions, they lacked the resources and options necessary to protect themselves from sexual assaults throughout their tenure as employees for the Robinsons,” Mr. Harris added.
Three of the four women sat silently behind Mr. Harris at the news conference, with their faces mostly covered by sunglasses and face masks. An interpreter sat next to them and translated Mr. Harris’s remarks into Spanish. The fourth client, her face also concealed, joined via a video call.
The women, who have all since resigned, are seeking damages of $50 million.
“Obviously, no amount of money can compensate these women for what Mr. Robinson subjected them to,” Mr. Harris said. Given the nature of Mr. Robinson’s misconduct, he added, the amount sought was warranted.
The lawsuit goes into graphic detail about the abuse claims.
Jane Doe 1 worked for the Robinsons from January 2023 to February 2024 and was assaulted at least seven times by Mr. Robinson while working weekend shifts cleaning his home in the Chatsworth neighborhood of Los Angeles, the suit said.
Mr. Robinson would drop off his wife at the nail salon, the suit said, and rush home to assault Jane Doe 1 while she was alone.
Jane Doe 2 worked for the Robinsons from May 2014 to February 2020 and reported being sexually assaulted by the singer at least 23 times during that period.
Jane Doe 3, who worked for the Robinsons from February 2012 to April 2024, reported being sexually assaulted by Mr. Robinson at least 20 times. And Jane Doe 4, who worked for the couple from October 2006 until April 2024, said she was sexually assaulted by Mr. Robinson at his homes in Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Bell Canyon, an unincorporated community in Ventura County near Los Angeles.
Each of the women worked 10-hour shifts in which they were paid less than minimum wage or denied overtime pay, the suit said.
Despite having full knowledge of the abuse, the suit said, Ms. Robinson would berate the women with racially charged epithets, create more work for them and bar them from taking breaks or having meals.
“We believe she was aware of the misconduct by her husband, Smokey Robinson, and that she used their status as well as our clients’ reliance on their living wage in order to keep them in check,” said Herbert Hayden, another lawyer representing the four women.
Mr. Hayden did not say whether his clients intended to pursue criminal charges.
A spokesperson for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said on Tuesday that the office hadn’t received anything from law enforcement.
Mr. Robinson, a seminal figure in the Motown era of soul music in the 1960s and 1970s, has made several public appearances in recent weeks promoting a new album, including a performance last week on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”
He is currently on tour and scheduled to perform on Friday in Mississippi.
