LOS ANGELES — Motown legend Smokey Robinson filed a lawsuit Wednesday alleging defamation by four former housekeepers who accused him in a lawsuit this month of sexual assault and abuse.
Lawyers for Robinson also filed a motion in Los Angeles County Superior Court seeking to have the complaint against him dismissed, arguing that it was filed under false names.
Robinson, 85, was sued in early May by four women identified in court documents as Jane Does 1-4. They alleged Robinson assaulted them while they worked as low-wage housekeepers at his home in the Los Angeles suburb of Chatsworth.
Robinson has denied the allegations.
In addition to the civil lawsuit, which seeks no less than $50 million, a law enforcement source told NBC News two weeks ago that Robinson is under criminal investigation. No charges have been filed.
Robinson’s lawsuit against the four women who have accused him says that they were treated in a “collegial, even familial, manner” and that they never alleged any abuse while they were employed.
They first demanded $100 million before they sued, attorneys for Robinson wrote in the cross-complaint.
“When the Robinsons resisted the extortionate demands, Plaintiffs filed this lawsuit,” says the lawsuit filed by Robinsons' attorney, Christopher Frost. It also alleges that subsequent public statements made against the Robinsons were false.
“Plaintiffs did not have the right to create a media circus of a press conference, and use that platform to slander the Robinsons,” the suit reads.
The women, three of whom appeared at a May 6 news conference wearing masks to protect their identity, said they didn't speak out earlier because they were afraid of losing their paychecks and they were embarrassed, one of their lawyers, John Harris, said then.
The women's lawsuit is against Robinson and his wife, Frances Robinson. Their attorneys said Frances Robinson was aware of the abuse the women allege.
The suit claims Smokey Robinson assaulted one woman at least 23 times from May 2014 to February 2020, often in places in his home without security cameras.
It alleges that he assaulted another former employee at least 20 times during the 12 years she worked for him, beginning in 2012. According to the suit, Robinson would force her into his bedroom and perform a “ritual” of leaving his bathroom naked or nearly naked.
According to the suit, Robinson would then place a towel on his bed so the linens would not be soiled “for what was about to occur.”
The suit says he subjected two other plaintiffs to the same behavior. One of the former housekeepers worked for Robinson for 13 months, during which, she alleges, he assaulted her at least seven times.
Robinson's defamation lawsuit named the four Jane Does, Harris and his law firm, among others.
It singles out Harris' use of the phrase "serial and sick rapist” and “serial assaulter" referring to Robinson at the May 6 news conference.
Harris said at the news conference that “we believe that Mr. Robinson is a serial and sick rapist that must be stopped.”
At another point, Harris said, "We have reason to believe that this behavior has existed for many years, and I think, given the allegations, we're fairly confident that he's a serial assaulter."
Harris and his law firm partner, Herbert Hayden of Harris & Hayden of Los Angeles, called Robinson's defamation lawsuit "nothing more than an attempt to silence and intimidate the survivors of Mr. Robinson’s sexual battery and assault."
"It is a baseless and vindictive legal maneuver designed to re-victimize, shift blame and discourage others from coming forward," Harris and Hayden said in a statement Wednesday in response to the suit.
They said they will file a motion to strike Robinson's complaint, citing a California law about "strategic lawsuits against public participation," or SLAPP.
Robinson, a recording, producing and songwriting legend, is known for, among other hits, "You've Really Got a Hold on Me," "Ooo Baby Baby" and "The Tracks of My Tears."
Robinson's lawsuit seeks damages of not less than $500 million. It alleges defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress and invasion of privacy, among other claims.
