Motown legend Smokey Robinson filed a countersuit Wednesday in opposition to the 4 former housekeepers who’ve accused him of sexual assault — and their attorneys.
Robinson is suing them for defamation, claiming in his countersuit that the 4 ladies “fabricated” rape allegations “in assist of their extortionate scheme.”
“The Robinsons didn’t abuse, hurt or make the most of plaintiffs; they handled plaintiffs with the utmost kindness and generosity,” his cross-complaint stated. “Sadly, the depths of plaintiffs’ avarice and greed is aware of no bounds.”
Robinson and his spouse additionally gave the ladies a number of presents — together with cash for dental work, clothes, holidays, live performance tickets, and a automobile — and handled them like household, his lawsuit stated.
Robinson’s go well with additionally particulars an occasion by which his protected and financial institution info went lacking, implying that one or a number of of the ladies could have stolen it from him.
Robinson can also be suing for emotional misery and monetary elder abuse stemming from a press convention.
“Plaintiffs didn’t have the proper to create a media circus of a press convention, and use that platform to slander the Robinsons,” the go well with added.
Robinson has denied the allegations in opposition to him, along with his legal professional Christopher Frost beforehand saying the housekeepers’ lawsuit was “merely an unsightly methodology of attempting to extract cash from an 85-year-old American icon,” in line with NBC Information. Frost didn’t instantly reply to JHB’s request for touch upon Wednesday.
Together with the countersuit, Frost additionally filed a movement to get the ladies’s go well with dismissed on the idea of their being granted anonymity.
“The allegations within the grievance are to this point faraway from the reality that the Robinsons can’t establish which Doe is whom,” the movement stated, in line with, Rolling Stone. “As an illustration, the Robinsons anticipate the details will present that two of the plaintiffs are sisters, one inviting the opposite to work for the Robinsons, throughout a time that she now claims she was already being sexually assaulted.”
The ladies, named within the lawsuit as Jane Does 1 by means of 4, accuse Robsinson of sexual assault and rape on quite a few occassions between 2007 and 2024.
One girl claims within the go well with, filed on Could 6, that Robinson assaulted her no less than 23 instances between Could 2014 to February 2020. One other claims he assaulted her no less than 20 instances between 2012 and 2024. A 3rd says Robinson assaulted her no less than seven instances in the course of the yr that she labored for him earlier than quitting in 2024.
One other girl stated she labored with the Robinsons for 18 years, however she didn’t say what number of instances Robinson allegedly assaulted her. She resigned in 2024.
The 4 ladies additionally claimed that Robinson’s spouse, Frances Gladney, “did not take the suitable corrective motion to forestall Defendant Robinson’s deviant misconduct.”
“We imagine that Mr. Robinson is a serial and sick rapist, and should be stopped,” the ladies’s legal professional John Harris stated at a information convention when saying the lawsuit.
Harris and Herbert Hayden, who can also be representing the ladies, informed JHB in an announcement that the countersuit is “a baseless and vindictive authorized maneuver designed to re-victimize, shift blame and discourage others from coming ahead.”
“This cross-complaint is not going to stand. We’re submitting an anti-SLAPP movement to strike it in its entirety and can search attorneys’ charges and prices for having to defend in opposition to this abusive tactic,” Harris and Hayden continued of their joint assertion.
The ladies “stay dedicated to looking for justice—not just for themselves however for all survivors who’ve been silenced by concern of retaliation. This case is about accountability, transparency, and guaranteeing that energy is just not used to hurt or suppress others,” they added.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Division launched a felony investigation into the allegations shortly after the ladies’s lawsuit was filed, however no costs have been filed presently.
Robinson based famed R&B and soul group The Miracles, which was identified for songs like “You’ve Actually Acquired a Maintain on Me” in 1962, “Ooo Child Child” in 1965 and “The Tears of a Clown” in 1970.
The Motown legend has been inducted into each the Rock ‘n’ Roll Corridor of Fame and the Songwriters’ Corridor of Fame. He’s at the moment on his fiftieth anniversary Legacy Tour.
Need assistance? Go to RAINN’s Nationwide Sexual Assault On-line Hotline or the Nationwide Sexual Violence Useful resource Middle’s web site.