Here’s how ‘Tracks of My Tears’ lyrics came to Smokey Robinson
The legendary Smokey Robinson sits down with USA TODAY’s Bryan Alexander to talk “A Motown Christmas” and how “Tracks of My Tears” lyrics came about.
Smokey Robinson has been accused of sexual abuse by a handful of women, according to a new lawsuit.
Four women who allegedly previously worked for the R&B-soul icon, 85, accused Robinson of sexual battery, assault, false imprisonment, gender violence and creating a hostile work environment, among other offenses, according to a May 6 complaint filed in the Los Angeles County Superior Court and obtained by USA TODAY.
The women, who were each reportedly employed as housekeepers at Robinson’s Chatsworth, Los Angeles, residence, claim they were forced to leave their jobs due to the singer’s “repeated sexual assaults and sexual harassment,” adding that his alleged conduct was “willful, wanton, and malicious, with a conscious disregard for (their) rights, privacy, and feelings.”
USA TODAY has reached out to representatives of Robinson for comment.
Robinson’s longtime wife, Frances Robinson, is also named in the lawsuit, with all four women claiming the singer’s spouse had “full knowledge of his prior acts of sexual misconduct” and “failed to take the appropriate corrective action.”
Additionally, a group of 25 individuals — collectively and anonymously referred to as Does 1-25 — have also been sued for their alleged involvement in “the events and happenings” outlined in the women’s accounts.
Woman accuses Smokey Robinson of rape, labor abuses
One woman, identified anonymously as Jane Doe 1, alleges in the lawsuit that Robinson raped her numerous times during her employment with the singer, which reportedly lasted from January 2023 to February 2024.
The former employee, who allegedly worked on the weekends while the rest of Robinson’s staff was off, claimed Robinson would often initiate his sexual advances on Saturdays after dropping off his wife Frances at the nail salon.
Per Doe’s account, Robinson would call the woman into his bedroom, where he was “clothed only in his underwear,” and subsequently engage in unwanted kissing and digital penetration of the woman’s vagina, as well as forced oral sex and intercourse. She said this pattern of assault occurred at least seven times during their professional relationship.
Doe “would protest and resist his sexual assaults but to no avail,” the lawsuit stated. “In a desperate attempt to get him to stop his sexual assaults, she would proclaim ‘you’re married,’ to which he would casually ignore.”
The woman also claimed Frances Robinson was aware of her husband’s “deviant misconduct,” including settling legal cases with “other women that suffered and experienced similar sexual assaults perpetuated by him.”
Aside from Robinson’s alleged sexual misconduct, the woman alleged the singer and his wife “perpetuated a hostile work environment” that included frequent verbal abuse by Frances and a failure to pay proper wages and provide time for breaks.
Woman alleges Smokey Robinson raped her nearly 2 dozen times
Another woman accusing Robinson of sexual abuse claims the singer threatened her if she spoke out about the alleged misconduct.
The woman, identified anonymously as Jane Doe 2, reportedly worked for Robinson and his wife from about May 2014 until February 2020. According to the lawsuit, Doe was repeatedly subjected to Robinson’s “brutal sexual advances,” which allegedly began in the latter half of 2016.
The former housekeeper alleged Robinson frequently requested that she meet him alone in various parts of his Los Angeles residence, including the singer’s bedroom, where he would penetrate Doe’s genitals with his fingers, as well as initiate oral sex and intercourse without the woman’s consent.
Doe, who claimed Robinson assaulted her at least 23 separate times, said the singer threatened to make wife Frances be “mean” to her if she refused to have sex with him. Similar to Jane Doe 1, the woman also alleged the couple created a “hostile work environment” that included verbal abuse and infrequent pay.
Smokey Robinson allegedly offered to pay housekeeper for sexual favor
A woman who allegedly worked as a housekeeper for Robinson and his wife claims the singer at one point offered to pay her in exchange for sexual activity.
The woman, anonymously identified as Jane Doe 3, was reportedly employed by the couple from about February 2012 to April 2024, according to the lawsuit. During this time, Doe was often allegedly forced into Robinson’s bedroom, where the singer would “perform his ritual of exiting his bathroom nude or wearing only underwear after showering and then carefully placing a towel on his bed not to soil the linens.”
The former housekeeper alleged Robinson performed oral sex and intercourse on her without her consent, as well as made “unwanted advances” that included “touching her breasts, vagina and kissing her on her neck and on her mouth.”
Doe claimed Robinson raped her at least 20 times throughout her employment. During one alleged incident in which the woman refused the singer’s advances, Robinson reportedly offered Doe $500 to have oral sex, an offer she allegedly refused.
Just like her co-plaintiffs Jane Doe 1 and Jane Doe 2, the woman alleged she suffered workplace misconduct such as verbal abuse and lack of proper compensation.
Woman alleges Smokey Robinson assault at singer’s Las Vegas home
Another woman who allegedly worked as a housekeeper for Robinson claimed the singer raped her during a work trip in the late 2000s.
The woman, identified anonymously as Jane Doe 4, alleged in the lawsuit that Robinson first sexually assaulted her when she accompanied the musician to his Las Vegas home in 2007. The former housekeeper, who also had a stint as Frances Robinson’s personal assistant, cook and hairdresser, reportedly worked for the couple from about October 2006 to April 2024.
During the visit to Robinson’s Vegas home, the acclaimed singer allegedly forced Doe into his bedroom and raped her, setting off a yearslong cycle of sexual assault that reportedly consisted of unwanted fondling and kissing, forced oral sex and rape.
Similar to her Jane Doe counterparts, the woman alleged various labor violations by Robinson and his wife Frances, which included verbal abuse, infrequent pay and lack of proper breaks.
All four women claimed they refrained from reporting Robinson’s alleged sexual misconduct for fear of losing their livelihood and suffering “public embarrassment, shame and humiliation,” as well as being intimidated by the singer’s celebrity status.
As compensation for Robinson’s alleged abuses, which also include charges of negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress, the women are demanding a jury trial and a series of damages. Some of the requested damages include payments of at least $50 million or more.
Who is Smokey Robinson?
Robinson is a singer-songwriter and former record executive best known for founding the iconic R&B group the Miracles, who were signed to Motown Records. Robinson later became vice president of the seminal record label, which was established by Berry Gordy.
Some of Robinson’s biggest hits include “Cruisin’,” “Being With You,” “Just to See Her” and “One Heartbeat.”
Robinson has been inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame twice, first as a solo artist in 1983 and later as a member of the Miracles in 2009.
If you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence, RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline offers free, confidential, 24/7 support to survivors and their loved ones in English and Spanish at: 800.656.HOPE (4673) and Hotline.RAINN.org and en Español RAINN.org/es.
(This story was updated to add new information.)
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