Motown legend Smokey Robinson, 85, is hitting back with a vengeance at claims that he sexually abused four former housekeepers with a half-billion-dollar counter-punch. The woman, who filed anonymously as Jane Does earlier this month, filed a $50 million suit against the iconic crooner of rape, harassment, false imprisonment, and gender violence over the years. Now Robinson is retching the suit, filing a $500 million countersuit Wednesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court accusing Vaughn of defamation, financial elder abuse, and a complex plot to dismantle his and his wife’s reputation.
Robinson claims the women and their attorney, John W. Harris, hatched a plot to issue “slanderous statements” in a May 6 press conference to increase pressure on him and shake him down for money, court papers say. The countersuit alleges the press conference during which Harris purportedly branded Robinson “a serial and sick rapist” went too far in a court battle, leaving behind the cloak of litigation privilege.
Robinson’s lawyers claim that the allegations are false and manufactured. The filing contains what it describes as friendly text messages that the women exchanged with Frances Robinson, Smokey’s wife. This includes birthday wishes, cordial invitations to family events, and other messages Robinson says contradict claims of fear and abuse.
Reid’s countersuit goes further than defamation, alleging significant theft. Robinson claims that secure and sensitive financial records were stolen from his house and believes one or more plaintiffs are responsible.
The Robinsons have characterized their relationship with the women as uncommon generosity. The couple once provided gifts, including concert tickets, trips, money for dental work, and even a car. But now they say that beneath that relationship was a calculated attempt by the women to extort more.
Anonymity is perhaps the most contentious element of the legal back-and-forth. Robinson’s team has requested the court to order the plaintiffs, whom the case refers to by pseudonyms, to dismiss the pseudonyms, as the allegations are so vague and absurd that it’s impossible to know who is being accused of what. But under California law, victims who are suing for civil damages in sexual assault cases can use pseudonyms if they can show that disclosing their identities would lead to more damage or retaliation.
The original $50 million suit is still pending, but the stakes have risen. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has opened a criminal investigation into the initial allegations, and Robinson’s countersuit only further complicates what’s already shaping up to be a high-profile case.
This legal drama is not over, and the truth, wherever it may be, is buried beneath hundreds of millions of dollars and reputation on the line.
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