Smokey Robinson Under Investigation for Alleged Sexual Assault

Smokey Robinson is now at the center of a criminal investigation following serious sexual assault allegations, his attorneys and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department confirmed to Variety.

According to the report, four women who worked for Robinson between 2006 and 2024 have filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court, accusing him of sexual battery, assault, and false imprisonment. The women, listed as Jane Does, say the assaults happened while they were employed as housekeepers at Robinson’s home in Chatsworth, California. They’re asking for a jury trial and at least $50 million in damages.

On Thursday, the Sheriff’s Department issued a statement saying: “The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Special Victims Bureau is actively investigating criminal allegations involving William Robinson AKA ‘Smokey Robinson.’ The investigation is in the early stages, and we have no further comment.”

Robinson and his wife Frances are both named in the civil case. The women claim Frances Robinson allowed a hostile work environment, allegedly yelling at her husband with “ethnically pejorative words and language,” and failing to act even though she was aware of earlier allegations and settlements involving similar behavior.

Robinson’s attorney responded to the new criminal probe with a strong statement: “We are aware that a police report has now been filed by the Plaintiffs in the civil lawsuit. It is clear to us what is happening here. Plaintiffs filed a police report only after they filed a $50 million lawsuit. This means only that the police are now required to investigate. We welcome that investigation, which involves Plaintiffs who continue to hide their identities, because exposure to the truth is a powerful thing. We feel confident that a determination will be made that Mr. Robinson did nothing wrong, and that this is a desperate attempt to prejudice public opinion and make even more of a media circus than the Plaintiffs were previously able to create. The record will ultimately demonstrate that this is nothing more than a manufactured lawsuit intended to tarnish the good names of Smokey and Frances Robinson, for no other reason than unadulterated avarice.”

As both the civil case and criminal investigation move forward, the situation continues to unfold around one of music’s most well-known figures.