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Two more former domestic workers have made new allegations of sexual assault against Smokey Robinson. One of them is a man who claims he was sexually abused while working as a car detailer for the Motown legend. The man, identified as John Doe, claims Robinson repeatedly touched himself in front of him and once tried to to press the man’s hand on his erect penis.
The new plaintiffs appeared in a new motion filed in Los Angeles by the four former domestic workers who filed a $50 million lawsuit against Robinson in May. In their motion, obtained by ROLLING STONE, the women seek court approval to add John Doe and a fifth woman, identified as Jane Doe 5, as co-plaintiffs in an amended complaint.
A hearing on the matter is scheduled for January 6.
New plaintiffs and defense reactions
In a statement, Robinson’s attorney Christopher Frost said the newly proposed plaintiffs are “part of the same group of individuals who have conspired against the Robinsons and are spreading their claims for maximum negative publicity.” He claimed the accusers were part of an “organized, greedy campaign to extort money from an 85-year-old legend.”
“This group of people, hiding behind anonymity, and their lawyers are seeking global publicity while making the most egregiously false accusations,” Frost said in the statement to Rolling Stone on Wednesday. “Once the public can see the truth, their greedy motives and fabricated claims will be exposed.”
The first four employees filed their original lawsuit on May 6, alleging that Robinson found ways to isolate them at his homes in the San Fernando Valley and Las Vegas and force them to perform sexual acts despite their protests. Jane Doe 1 alleged that Robinson sexually abused her at least seven times between January 2023 and February 2024. She claimed Robinson would take his wife to a nail salon, rush home and then lure her into his “blue bedroom” where he would lock the door and rape her without a condom.
New allegations from Jane Doe 5
Jane Doe 2 claimed she worked for Robinson and his wife between May 2014 and February 2020. She claimed Robinson forced her to engage in unwanted sexual acts at least 23 times. She said Robinson forced her to give him oral sex before he penetrated her without a condom.
The new plaintiff, Jane Doe 5, would make similar allegations if she were allowed to join the lawsuit, the new lawsuit says. The woman alleges that Robinson repeatedly sexually harassed and beat her between 2007 and 2011 while she worked as a housekeeper. According to the new filing, Robinson called Jane Doe 5 into the bathroom while he was showering and asked her to scrub his back.
“Defendant Smokey Robinson turned to her in the shower, naked with his penis erect, and then asked her again to scrub his back,” the motion states. “On more than 10 occasions he then grabbed her hand and attempted to force her to touch his erect penis. [Sie] struggled violently, pushed his hands away and fled the bathroom.”
Robinson and his wife, who is a co-defendant in the lawsuit, responded to the original lawsuit with a $500 million countersuit for defamation and elder abuse against the first four housekeepers. They claimed the women were treated “like family,” given autonomy in their work and given significant gifts, including vacations, concert tickets and, in one case, even a car.
Statement from the plaintiff
“While the Robinsons were extremely generous to the Plaintiffs, the Plaintiffs hatched an extortionate plan to take everything from the Robinsons (everything in excess of what was freely given to them) and to unfairly destroy the Robinsons’ good reputation,” the 19-page counterclaim states.
In a statement accompanying the motion, plaintiffs’ attorney John W. Harris said the identities and claims of John Doe and Jane Doe 5 “were recently fully reviewed and developed.” He argued that the court should allow them to participate in the proceedings because their claims are “strikingly similar in nature to those already asserted in the lawsuit.” Harris claimed that the Robinsons already knew about the two domestic workers and “specifically identified them by name” in their requests for information.
“We commend these two brave survivors for coming forward and adding their voices to this case,” Harris said in a statement shared with Rolling Stone on Wednesday. “We look forward to advocating vigorously on their behalf as they seek the justice they deserve.”
The hearing in this case is scheduled for October 11, 2027.