Smokey Robinson Reportedly Breaks Silence On Sexual Assault Lawsuit

Trigger Warning: This story contains details of sexual assault.

Smokey Robinson is reportedly “appalled” over claims that he sexually assaulted four former female employees. News of the lawsuit surfaced on Tuesday (May 6), and he briefly spoke with the Daily Mail about the allegations.

“I am appalled. I can’t speak about this right now,” said the 85-year-old Motown star. He was reportedly “mumbling incoherently” on the phone call, but made no further comment on the matter.

Robinson has been accused of sexual battery, assault, false imprisonment, gender violence, and creating a hostile work environment by four anonymous women who worked for the singer and his wife, Frances, for nearly 20 years.

The Jane Does claim Robinson “repeatedly forced his fingers and penis into their vaginas, causing severe and excruciating pain” and allege that he would use “physical barriers, force, threats of force” like locking his bedroom door to prevent the women from leaving during the alleged assaults. The women have also accused the couple of not paying them minimum wage and overtime.

Frances, whom Robinson married in 2002, was accused of having “full knowledge of his prior acts of sexual misconduct.” The plaintiffs also say she “failed to take the appropriate corrective action” to prevent his “deviant misconduct,” after settling cases with other women who experienced similar abuse by Robinson.

One Jane Doe claims Robinson “raped” her “at least 20 times” over a 12-year time span. Another said she was sexually assaulted at least seven times. She and the other women didn’t report the attacks out of fear of losing their “livelihood, familial reprisal, public embarrassment, shame and humiliation,” as well as “being threatened and intimidated” by Robinson’s celebrity status.

Collectively, they’re seeking at least $50 million in damages.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.