Crime

The latest target of #MeToo? Smokey Robinson. He’s accused of raping four housekeepers over a 20-year period.

Smokey Robinson is a music legend who started in the business in 1955. He’s in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and has too many hit records to his name to count. Now, though, he’s being accused of repeatedly raping four women who worked as his housekeepers.

In a US$50 million lawsuit, four women (Jane Does 1-4) have come forward anonymously with a claim filed in Los Angeles. They say Robinson engaged in sexual battery, assault and gender violence, and other bad things.

Frances Robinson, Smokey’s wife, is named as a defendant for allegedly “fail[ing] to take the appropriate corrective action to prevent [Smokey’s] deviant misconduct against” the four women “despite having full knowledge of his prior acts of sexual misconduct, having settled cases with other women that suffered and experienced similar sexual assaults perpetuated by him.”

She also allegedly “perpetuated a hostile work environment by regularly screaming at” the women “in a hostile manner, using ethnically pejorative words and language.”

The claims cover a period from October 2006 to February 2024. An example: Robinson would allegedly “call her into his blue bedroom, lock the door and escort their dog Shilo out of the room. He will have showered and clothed only in his underwear. He would then neatly place a white towel on his bed, not to soil the bed linens, in preparation for what was about to occur.”

The allegations get pretty graphic.

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

Alan Cross has 41187 posts and counting. See all posts by Alan Cross

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