Nationwide — Legendary Motown singer and producer Smokey Robinson is going through critical allegations of sexual misconduct from 4 former workers, including his identify to a rising listing of distinguished Black male celebrities just lately accused of sexual assault and harassment. Robinson, now 85, has been named in a civil lawsuit filed Tuesday, Could 6 in Los Angeles Superior Courtroom, which accuses him of a number of offenses together with sexual battery, gender violence, false imprisonment, and sustaining a hostile work atmosphere.Smokey Robinson, born William Robinson Jr., rose to fame within the Sixties because the frontman of The Miracles and later turned a key determine at Motown Data, serving to form the sound of soul music for generations. Over the a long time, he has earned acclaim not solely as a vocalist but additionally as a songwriter and government. Nonetheless, his legacy is now underneath scrutiny as 4 ladies — all of whom labored for Robinson in home roles — declare he repeatedly sexually assaulted them over a span of almost twenty years.
In response to People, the lawsuit, which additionally names Robinson’s spouse, Frances Robinson, as a co-defendant, alleges that she was absolutely conscious of his alleged habits and didn’t intervene. In response to the submitting, Frances is accused of enabling her husband’s actions by ignoring earlier cases of misconduct and permitting a sample of abuse to proceed inside their family.
The 4 ladies — recognized as Jane Doe 1 by 4 — describe a disturbing sample of abuse that features repeated sexual assaults, harassment, and, in at the least one case, alleged rape. Jane Doe 3 claims she was raped “at the least 20 instances” whereas working as a housekeeper, whereas Jane Doe 4 says she endured comparable therapy from 2007 till her resignation in 2024. A number of ladies say they had been compelled to resign because of the hostile and abusive atmosphere.
The plaintiffs are in search of at least $50 million in damages.
These accusations come at a time when different high-profile Black males in leisure — together with Sean “Diddy” Combs, Trey Songz, and Jonathan Majors — have additionally been the topic of authorized motion involving sexual misconduct or home violence. Whereas every case varies in scope and proof, critics argue that the frequency of those lawsuits raises deeper questions on energy dynamics, accountability within the leisure trade, and the therapy of ladies — significantly ladies of coloration — in personal workspaces.
Up to now, neither Smokey nor Frances Robinson has made a public assertion relating to the lawsuit.
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