Motown legend Smokey Robinson is accused of sexual assault by four former employees

Mowtown music mogul faces charges

Mowtown music legend Smokey Robinson is the latest celebrity to be accused of inappropriate behavior. By now mant are numb from all the allegations againsr those who gave us great music. A court of law will determine if the charges against the music icon are credible or throw them out. In the meantime here are the facts for those who are interested.

Four former housekeepers claim the 85-year-old allegedly raped and sexual assaulted them and have filed lawsuits. In a statement shared with PEOPLE, Robinson's attorney Christopher Frost said the complaint was "an ugly method of trying to extract money from an American icon."

Smokey and the Miracles

Robinson was an original Hitsville USA/Motown member when he was with the Miracles, later renamed Robinson and the Miracles. Their 1960s hits included Tracks of My Tears, Shop Around, and Tears of a Clown.

Smokey succeeded with a solo career, with hits including Being With You and Open. He has been entertaining us for eight decades and shows no signs of slowing down.

The allegations from four housekeepers

The complaint filed with the Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday, May 6, and obtained by PEOPLE, the plaintiffs claim that Smokey's alleged sexual battery was "willful, wanton, and malicious, with a conscious disregard" of their "rights, privacy, and feelings." Robinson's wife, Francis Robinson, was also named in the lawsuit.

According to the complaint, Jane Doe 1 claims that Frances allegedly had "full knowledge of his prior acts of sexual misconduct" and "failed to take the appropriate corrective action" to prevent his "deviant misconduct" even after settling cases with other women who experienced similar sexual assaults at his hands.

Jane Doe alleges that the first SA occurred in March 2023, when she experienced "repeated sexual assaults and sexual harassment" against her by Robinson. John Harris and Herbert Hayden, attorneys for the plaintiffs, also shared a statement with PEOPLE, saying the lawsuit "clearly describes Mr. Robinson's despicable criminal acts."

Jane Doe two, three, and four

The Motown legend has been accused of sexual battery, assault, false imprisonment, gender violence, and creating a hostile work environment. Jane Doe 2 claims in the complaint that she began working for the defendants (the Robinsons) in 2014, and the alleged assaults began in 2016. She says she was forced to resign" in 2020 due to Smokey's "repeated sexual assaults and sexual harassment" against her.

Jane Doe 3 worked as a housekeeper for Smokey from 2012 until 2024, when, according to the complaint, she was allegedly forced to resign due to Smokey's repeated incidents of "sexual assaults and sexual harassment against her," per the complaint.

She also claims in the complaint that Smokey forced her to "lie face down" in a towel and"raped" her from behind "at least 20 times. A fourth housekeeper also alleged in the complaint that she worked for Smokey from 2006 to 2024 and was allegedly forced to resign due to "repeated sexual assaults and sexual harassment" against her that began in 2007.

What will a jury decide

Attorneys for Smokey Robinson say the claims are vile and are lies. This comes in the middle of the Diddy trial, where hundreds have accused the Bad Boy founder of numerous sexual violations and violence.

Jurors will decide Combs's guilt or innocence, and if Robinson's lawyers don't get the charges against him dismissed, a jury will also determine his fate. Are all of these accusers lying and seeking a big payout, or are those in the industry idolized by the public living double lives?

Whether Robinson and Diddy are found guilty or innocent perhaps we should enjoy the music without thinking more highly of other humans. My6 grandmother's phrase was "If you don't eat them up you don't have to spit them out."