When challenged by the Daily Mail about charges he sexually molested many housekeepers, iconic musician Smokey Robinson yelled, ‘I am outraged’.
Following a phone call Wednesday morning, the 85-year-old Motown star began babbling incoherently.
He did not sound well.
Robinson regained consciousness a few seconds later and ended the call with the words, ‘I can’t speak about this right now.’
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Robinson was served with a civil lawsuit on Wednesday, which contained a series of salacious allegations against him and his wife Francis.
Four Hispanic housekeepers accused the singer, born William Robinson Jr., of sexual assault, rape, wage theft, and bullying.
The attacks are believed to have occurred between 2007 and April 2024 at Robinson’s two Los Angeles houses and a third residence he owns in Las Vegas.
Robinson’s accusers, known in the lawsuit as Jane Does, claim they were forced into rooms on the property and sexually mistreated or raped.
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The musician, whose biggest hits include The Tracks of My Tears, My Guy, and My Girl, has also been accused of performing a filthy ‘ritual’ on the ladies.
They claim that he summoned or pushed them into his bedroom, where they discovered him naked or wearing just a towel, and that Robinson then commanded them to touch him.
Robinson’s wife Francis was fully aware of the assaults and did nothing to stop them, according to the lawsuit.
It also claims that she was well aware of previous settlements paid to other women who had made similar allegations against Robinson.
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She was allegedly driven to a nail shop every week so Robinson could be ‘home alone’ with one of his accusers.
Francis was also described as a bully who would’scream’ at the women ‘in a nasty manner.’
Robinson is claimed to have threatened to have sex with one of his housekeepers if she refused.
The women are demanding $50 million in damages. There have been no criminal charges filed against Robinson in connection with the claims.
Robinson is on tour to commemorate the 50th anniversary of his hit soul album A Quiet Storm, and he is scheduled to play hours after the press conference in Huntington, New York on Tuesday night.
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The four plaintiffs who are suing Robinson have opted to remain anonymous, referred to only as Jane Doe in the pleadings.
One of the plaintiffs said Robinson sexually assaulted her many times at his mansion beginning in 2016.
‘He would summon her to either the laundry room or garage, where there were no cameras,’ the lawsuit alleges.
The accuser said Robinson raped her ‘without a condom’ at least 23 times. She provided graphic details, including claims that the singer ‘enjoys ejaculating all over (her) face’.
He would then threaten her, claiming that his wife would be’mean’ to her if she did not cooperate, according to the lawsuit.
The same complaint claims that Frances ‘perpetuated a hostile work environment by constantly screaming at (her) in a hostile manner’ and ‘using ethnically derogatory phrases and language’.
Another former maid said Robinson sexually abused her at least seven times between January 2023 and February 2024, when she was ‘had to retire owing to continuous sexual attacks’.
He allegedly summoned her to his blue bedroom, escorted the dog, Shilo, out, then locked the door and attacked her on his bed, ‘causing her severe anguish’.
The housekeeper stated that she tried but was unable to’resist his sexual assaults’.
She shouted ‘you’re married’ to the singer in a desperate attempt to throw him off, but she said he would ‘casually dismiss’ it.
She claimed this happened at least seven times, prompting her to quit working for Robinson in February 2024. She further stated that the musician and his wife “failed to pay minimum wage or overtime wages.”
The third woman claimed she was working as a cleaner when Robinson attacked her, and she described a similar pattern of abuse in which the singer would entice her into his bedroom.
Robinson raped her at least 20 times between 2012 and 2024, according to the lawsuit, and once offered her $500 to ‘enable him to orally copulate her’.
The housekeeper also accuses Frances of neglecting ‘to take the required corrective action to prevent Smokey Robinson’s deviant activity’.
She stated that this occurred despite his wife “having full knowledge of his prior acts of sexual misconduct, having settled cases with other women who suffered and experienced similar sexual assaults perpetuated by him.”
The fourth complainant claims she was abused by Robinson while working as a cleaner between 2007 and 2024, and that he ‘never used a condom’ when abusing her in his home.
The complainants allege a variety of charges, including carelessness, sexual battery, assault, false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, gender violence, creating a hostile atmosphere, and failing to pay the minimum wage.
The complaint comes just weeks after Robinson’s latest album ‘What The World Needs Now’ was published on April 25.
When Robinson announced the album’s release last month, he told CBS Mornings, ‘I want people to be encouraged to care about and love one other.’
When asked what legacy he wished to leave as he began on his A Quiet Storm tour, he stated that he hoped it would be that he ‘was a good human being.’
‘(One) who grasped that there is nothing bigger than being a human being. I don’t care what your craft is, what you do for a living, and so on… So, I hope that is my legacy.
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