Four women who have worked as householders for Smokey Robinson have accused the renowned Motown singer of sexual violence, and claimed in a new lawsuit that he abused them for many years, while his wife closed a crush and thought of them.
The suit, submitted in Los Angeles on Tuesday, only identifies the women if Jane does 1 to 4. They each accuse Mr. Robinson, 85, to repeatedly rape them while they were in the service of cleaning his houses in Los Angeles; Ventura County, Calif.; and Las Vegas.
All the while, the suit, Mr. Robinson’s wife, Frances Robinson, said her husband was unable to prevent her husband from attacking the women despite the fact that he was aware of his sexual misconduct.
Three of the women feared Mr Robinson to report the authorities because of their immigration status, according to the court case, who also accuses the Robinsons of false prison, thereby creating a hostile working environment and the failure to pay minimum wage.
Mr. Robinson’s representatives did not immediately return requests for comments.
“Our four clients have a common thread,” said John Harris, a lawyer for the women, on Tuesday at a press conference in Los Angeles. “They are Spanish women who were working as housekeepers by the Robinsons and earn under the minimum wage.”
“As employees with low wages in vulnerable positions, they missed the resources and options that are needed to protect themselves against sexual attacks during their term of office as employees for the Robinsons,” Mr Harris added.
Three of the four women were silent behind Mr Harris on the press conference, with their faces usually covered with sunglasses and face masks. An interpreter was sitting next to them and translated the comments from Mr. Harris in Spanish. The fourth customer, her face, hidden too, joined a video call.
The women, who have taken since then, are looking for compensation of $ 50 million.
“It is clear that no amount of money can compensate for these women for what Mr. Robinson has subjected to them,” Mr. Harris said. Given the nature of Mr Robinson’s misconduct, he added, the amount searched was justified.
The lawsuit is in graphic detail about the abuse claims.
Jane Doe 1 worked for the Robinsons from January 2023 to February 2024 and was attacked at least seven times by Mr. Robinson during the work of the weekend to clean his house in the Chatsworth in Los Angeles district, the suit said.
Mr. Robinson would drop his wife at the nail salon, said the suit, and hurried home to attack Jane Doe 1 while she was alone.
Jane Doe 2 worked for the Robinsons from May 2014 to February 2020 and reported that he was sexually abused by the singer at least 23 times during that period.
Jane Doe 3, who worked for the Robinsons from February 2012 to April 2024, reported to have been sexually abused at least 20 times by Mr. Robinson. And Jane Doe 4, who worked for the couple from October 2006 to April 2024, said she was sexually abused by Mr. Robinson in his houses in Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Bell Canyon, a non -recorded community in Ventura County near Los Angeles.
Each of the women worked 10-hour services in which they were paid less than minimum wage or refused overtime, the suit said.
Despite the fact that he had the full knowledge of the abuse, the suit said, Mrs. Robinson would sort out the women with racially loaded epithets, create more work for them and forbid them to take breaks or having meals.
“We believe that she was aware of the misconduct by her husband, Smokey Robinson, and that she used their status, as well as the dependence on our customers of their livable wages to keep them under control,” said Herbert Hayden, another lawyer who represents the four women.
Mr. Hayden did not say whether his clients intended to pursue criminal prosecution.
A spokesperson for the office of Los Angeles County District Attorney said on Tuesday that the office had not received anything from the police.
Mr. Robinson, a groundbreaking figure in the Motown era of soul music in the sixties and seventies, has made various public performances in recent weeks to promote a new album, including a performance last week about ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live”.
He is currently on tour and is planned to perform on Friday in Mississippi.
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