In a legal battle marked by multi-million dollar claims and counterclaims, Motown singer Smokey Robinson and his wife, Frances, have leveraged a $500 million countersuit against four former housekeepers who have accused the music legend of sexual assault, an accusation he vehemently denies. The original lawsuit, seeking $50 million in damages, was brought forth by the accusers earlier this month, and it includes serious allegations of sexual battery, assault, and false imprisonment, as reported by FOX 11.
The countersuit, detailed in a report by ABC7, hits back at the claims, alleging that the former employees defamed Robinson at a press conference, fabricated their stories in a grab for his wealth, and engaged in a campaign of slander; however, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department has confirmed that their investigation into the accusations is still to present the case to the District Attorney, signaling a complex ongoing inquiry. Despite these heavy accusations, the Robinsons assert that they always treated the plaintiffs like extended family, having provided them with monetary and other substantial support over the years, claims that are starkly at odds with the alleged dark underside of their employment aired by the plaintiffs' attorneys.
The dramatic countersuit claims the former housekeepers are seeking to "extort money" and that they partook in "an ugly method of trying to extract money from an 85-year old American icon," as Robinson's lawyer Christopher Frost conveyed in statements published by The Hollywood Reporter. There, the Robinsons articulate a mix of legal strikes against the accusers, including defamation, elder abuse, and invasion of privacy, while asserting that the plaintiffs hid and destroyed evidence related to their accusations.
Lawyers for the Jane Does, John Harris and Herbert Hayden, have called the countersuit "a baseless and vindictive legal maneuver designed to re-victimize, shift blame and discourage others from coming forward" and have stated their intent to file an anti-SLAPP motion to strike it, according to a statement obtained by FOX 11. Meanwhile, the couple's legal team purportedly strives to compel the women to re-file their suit under their legal names this chain of events has undeniably unfolded within a matrix of high-profile legal strategy and public relations gambits, evoking a bitter legal feud with implications that reach far beyond the doors of a courtroom.
