Smokey Robinson allegedly showed up wearing only his underwear and was visibly aroused before trying to force a male employee’s hand on his genitals, according to new allegations filed in a sexual assault lawsuit against the Motown icon.
The male complainant, who said he had worked at Smokey Robinson’s Chatsworth estate since 2013, described an escalating series of unpleasant encounters over nearly a decade.
In court documents obtained by TMZ, the accuser claims Robinson often greeted him during the morning shift while wearing only his underwear and behaving inappropriately.
The man claimed he witnessed Robinson touching himself on multiple occasions, stating in the document that “During these incidents, Smokey Robinson’s sexual arousal was vivid and unambiguous.”
He also described the singer making lewd gestures and gesturing towards him towards a room inside the house.
The most serious charges center on an incident in 2022 in which Robinson allegedly “grabbed the man’s hand without consent and attempted to force it onto his penis.”
The plaintiff said he repeatedly refused the behavior and told Robinson to “put some clothes on.”
After that confrontation, the man said he was fired.
About a year later, Robinson’s wife, Frances Gladney Robinson, allegedly invited him back to work. The plaintiff claims that upon his return, the misconduct immediately resumed, prompting him to permanently leave the position.
The man said he eventually resigned “out of concern for his welfare after learning of similar behavior by other victims.”
He cited emotional distress, humiliation and safety concerns as lasting effects of the alleged harassment.
The complaint is part of a broader legal action that now includes six plaintiffs, four women and two men, who accuse the 84-year-old singer of sexual misconduct.
A fifth woman recently joined the lawsuit, alleging that Robinson grabbed her hand and attempted to force contact with his genitals more than a dozen times while she was working as a housekeeper.
Robinson’s attorney, Christopher Frost, disputed the new claims, calling them part of a coordinated smear campaign.
“These plaintiffs were part of the same group of people who conspired together against the Robinsons and advanced their claims to maximize adverse publicity,” Frost said. “As we’ve explained in the Robinsons’ lawsuit against the organization for defamation, civil conspiracy and elder abuse, this was, from start to finish, an organized, greedy campaign to steal money from an 85-year-old. The group hid behind anonymity and their lawyers made the ugliest false accusations while seeking global publicity.”
Robinson, a Detroit native and one of the architects of the Motown sound, rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Miracles and as a prolific songwriter for artists such as The Temptations and Mary Wells.
He has written more than 4,000 songs and received a Grammy Living Legend Award and a spot in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
