Another Smokey Robinson sexual assault allegation has resurfaced
Another sexual assault allegation against Motown legend Smokey Robinson has come to light after Robinson and his wife were accused of rape by four former housekeepers.
Robinson has defiantly denied all allegations against him, and has countersued the four former employees in a $500million defamation case. The original suit was filed for $50m against Robinson and his wife, Frances. It details dozens of alleged incidents of rape and sexual assault from four women who worked as housekeepers for the couple at their California residence.
The alleged assaults took place between 2007 and 2024.
Now, an allegation from 2015 has come to light. No charges were filed at that time because of insufficient evidence, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. “We discovered that our office was presented with a sexual assault allegation against Mr. Robinson in 2015 by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department,” the district attorney’s office said.
Though the office said “a declination of charges was made based on insufficient evidence,” they were unable to provide further information due to the ongoing law enforcement investigation into the other accusations. These current allegations include sexual battery, assault, false imprisonment, gender violence, hostile work environment, and more.
- Smokey Robinson sued for sexual assault and false imprisonment by former employees
- Smokey Robinson responds to sexual assault allegations
Robinson and his team responded vehemently against the allegations. “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 stated.
The musician performed his first show since word of the controversy at Beau Rivage Theatre on May 9th to a modest crowd of approximately 1,200 people. At the show, he made no mention of the lawsuit; instead, 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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