Smokey Robinson has been sued by former female employees alleging sexual battery, assault and false imprisonment. The women are asking for a trial with general damages for several allegations of no less than $50 million.
Four Jane Does filed a suit against Robinson and his wife Frances in Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday, all making similar claims that Robinson sexually assaulted them during their employment as housekeepers at his Chatsworth, CA, residence.
The women also said that Frances created a hostile work environment by using “ethnically pejorative words and language” while screaming at Robinson, and that she did not take proper action to prevent misconduct despite knowledge that he’d settled cases from previous women alleging similar assaults.
Representatives for Robinson did not immediately respond to Variety‘s request for comment.
The lawsuit, reviewed by Variety, details four Doe’s experiences working for Robinson. The first Doe was employed from Jan. 2023 through Feb. 2024 before she was forced to resign due to repeated assault and harassment. The suit claims that she worked on weekends, when Robinson typically took Frances to the nail salon and would speed home to be alone with Doe. Once there, he called her into his bedroom and locked the door, and after showering began sexually assaulting her despite her protests. The suit claims he assaulted her at least seven times.
The second Doe worked for Robinson from May 2014 until Feb. 2020 and was assaulted on at least 23 different occasions. The alleged assaults began in the latter part of 2016, when he texted her to meet her at areas of his residence where closed-circuit cameras were not placed. Upon arrival, he would “immediately grab her and begin to penetrate her vagina with his fingers, causing her excruciating pain, and then would proceed to rape her.” The suit also says that he “would enjoy ejaculating all over [her] face, much to his satisfaction and her abject humiliation.”
Robinson employed the third Doe from Feb. 2012 until April 2024, who claimed similar allegations as the first Doe and says she was repeatedly raped at least 20 times. In one instance, when she resisted his advances, he offered her $500 for oral sex, which she refused. The fourth Doe worked as Frances’ personal assistant and chef from Oct. 2006 through April 2024, and says she was first assaulted in 2007 when she accompanied Robinson to his Las Vegas home.
All Does state that they did not take action against Robinson for fear of losing their livelihood, familial reprisal or embarrassment. Some of them were fearful it could affect their immigration status.
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