Smokey Robinson’s defamation counterclaims against former employees suing him for sexual abuse have been thrown out of court.
In a ruling on Thursday, a Los Angeles judge ruled there was insufficient evidence to hold Robinson’s former anonymous housekeepers and their lawyers liable for calling the singer a rapist at a press conference last year.
A lawyer for the accusers said in a statement that Thursday’s ruling “stands as a powerful and unequivocal victory for our clients and for survivors everywhere who refuse to be silenced”.
“The court saw this $500 million (£370 million) countersuit for what it is – a blatant, retaliatory attempt to intimidate, discredit and punish women for speaking out about sexual assault,” he insisted.
Robinson still has other counterclaims pending against the housekeepers for allegedly deleting evidence and stealing from his family. Those claims are moving forward alongside the women’s core sexual assault allegations, with a trial scheduled for 2027.
The legal battle began last May, when the four unnamed women filed a $50 million (£37 million) lawsuit alleging the 85-year-old artist had sexually abused them between 2007 and 2024. Later on, another female housekeeper and a male car mechanic joined the lawsuit anonymously with additional assault claims.
Robinson has vehemently denied all wrongdoing, saying the “vile, false allegations” were merely “an ugly method of trying to extract money”.
