Legendary singer Smokey Robinson isn’t taking these stunning sexual assault lawsuit calmly. In truth, his newest transfer proves he simply could also be gearing up for a giant combat and we’ve received all the small print.
As we beforehand informed you, 4 girls have accused the Motown legend of sexual battery, assault, false imprisonment, gender violence and making a hostile work surroundings. His spouse, Frances, has additionally been named within the swimsuit. The ladies specifically are all allegedly former housekeepers of Robinson who declare that his spouse had “full information of his prior acts of sexual misconduct” however “didn’t take the suitable corrective motion” to forestall “deviant misconduct” from Robinson. They’re in search of $5o million in damages.
Within the fast aftermath, Robinson’s lawyer spoke out on behalf of him, describing the swimsuit as an “ugly methodology of making an attempt to extract cash from an 85-year-old American icon” and the accusations as “vile” and “false.”
Now, Robinson is taking additional motion to clear his title by submitting a $500 million defamation countersuit towards his accusers. Per courtroom paperwork obtained by PEOPLE on Wednesday, the “Cruisin’” singer is countersuing over allegations of defamation, intentional infliction of emotional misery, monetary elder abuse and extra. The paperwork declare that the ladies lobbed “gratuitous and slanderous allegations” towards him, particularly citing a Could 6 press convention by which “The Tears of a Clown” singer was allegedly known as a “serial and sick rapist.”
“The statements had been false, and Plaintiffs knew them to be false,” the countersuit learn. “Nonetheless, they made the statements, and undoubtedly many individuals imagine the statements to be true.”
It later added: “The Robinsons didn’t abuse, hurt, or reap the benefits of Plaintiffs; they handled Plaintiffs with the utmost kindness and generosity. Sadly, the depths of the Plaintiffs’ avarice and greed is aware of no bounds.”
The countersuit additionally went on to say that Robinson’s spouse Frances was notably distraught and felt betrayed by the accusations and their allegations of monetary elder abuse stem from the truth that the 4 girls’s claims have “precipitated the Robinsons, who’re senior residents, lack of revenue and belongings put aside for retirement or for private or household care and upkeep.” Moreover, Robinson alleges that this swimsuit solely took place after he and his spouse rejected the ladies’s calls for of $100 million.
Attorneys representing the unidentified girls have since responded to Robinson’s countersuit in assertion, calling it “a baseless and vindictive authorized maneuver designed to re-victimize, shift blame and discourage others from coming ahead.” Additionally they mentioned that their purchasers stay devoted to receiving justice on this case and can file an anti-SLAPP movement in an try to eliminate the “Ooo Child, Child” singer’s swimsuit altogether.
“This case is about accountability, transparency, and guaranteeing that energy just isn’t used to hurt or suppress others,” the 4 girls’s response learn partly.