\n<\/p>\n
\n\tA judge ruled Thursday that the four housekeepers suing Smokey Robinson for sexual assault can move forward with their $50 million lawsuit against the Motown star using pseudonyms.<\/p>\n
\n\tRobinson had filed a motion asking the court to strike down the women\u2019s complaint and force them to refile using their real names if they wanted to proceed. He claimed the women waived their right to anonymity when they appeared at a press conference on May 6 wearing masks and sunglasses while their lawyers shared some identifying information.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe \u201cBeing With You\u201d singer, who is now counter-suing the Jane Does with a $500 million defamation and elder abuse cross-complaint, argued the women and their lawyers shouldn\u2019t be allowed to \u201cpick and choose\u201d the details they disclose. At the press conference, the lawyers told reporters that the women were Latina, earned \u201cbelow minimum wage,\u201d and didn\u2019t step forward sooner in part due to concerns they might face \u201creprisals\u201d related to immigration status.<\/p>\n
\n\tBefore the judge ruled from the bench Thursday at a morning hearing in downtown Los Angeles, Robinson\u2019s lawyer, Christopher Frost, argued that the pseudonyms were hindering the defense\u2019s effort to subpoena witnesses. He also revealed some of what Jane Doe 3 purportedly said during her sealed deposition taken a day earlier.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWe learned that Jane Doe No. 3 is the sister of Jane Doe 2, and she brought Jane Doe 2 to the employment of the Robinsons four years after she claims to have already been sexually assaulted. That\u2019s the kind of information they want to hide,\u201d Frost argued. \u201cWe also learned that Jane Doe 3 did nothing to find another job for 12 years, then had another job and left it to come back to the Robinsons. That\u2019s all during the time they were claiming they were being sexually assaulted. That\u2019s the type of information they don\u2019t want the public to know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tLos Angeles County Judge Kevin C. Brazile listened but stuck to his tentative order in favor of the Jane Does. He said the women could proceed with pseudonyms, but he might change his mind as the case progresses. He then set a trial date for Oct. 11, 2027, adding that Robinson\u2019s advanced age, 85, gave him priority. The judge said his other new trials were being set three years in the future.<\/p>\n
\t\tEditor\u2019s picks<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n
\n\t\u201cThis early in the case, I don\u2019t think their identities need to be revealed. Maybe later, but for now, you\u2019re not harmed. You know who they are,\u201d Judge Brazile said. He signaled he would grant exceptions to the anonymity ruling if Robinson\u2019s defense needs to use the women\u2019s names when reaching out to third-party witnesses to ask about their interactions with the plaintiffs.<\/p>\n
\n\tIn his written ruling, Brazile said he disagreed with Robinson\u2019s claim that the plaintiffs waived their right to anonymity \u201csimply because they might argue that their immigration status resulted in a delay coming forward, or because plaintiffs had a media conference during which they wore masks.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cThe court believes that this is a matter in which there is an overriding interest supporting the use of pseudonyms,\u201d Brazile wrote. He cited the \u201crepeated rapes\u201d alleged in the women\u2019s complaint and the possibility that Robinson\u2019s celebrity status might inspire fans to \u201cseek retribution.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tBefore setting the trial date, Judge Brazile asked about the musician\u2019s health. \u201cI\u2019ve hugged the man. He\u2019s in better shape than I am,\u201d Frost replied. The lawyer said the 2027 trial date worked, but something sooner might be a problem. \u201cThe other problem we have is that because the Jane Does filed police reports, we can\u2019t have him testify at the moment, and we don\u2019t know how long that is going to take, so we have to avoid a situation where we move so quickly that he can\u2019t present his defense,\u201d Frost said. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\t\tRelated Content<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n
\n\tThe high-profile legal battle first grabbed headlines in early May, when the four women filed their stunning complaint with allegations that the soul singer repeatedly sexually assaulted them during their various tenures dating as far back as 2007. The lawsuit accused Robinson of multiple rapes, instances of sexual assault and battery, false imprisonment, and gender violence. It went on to accuse Robinson and his wife, Frances Robinson, of negligence, creating a hostile work environment, sexual harassment, and causing emotional distress.<\/p>\n
\n\tIn the 27-page complaint, the women alleged that Robinson would find ways to isolate them at his homes in the San Fernando Valley and Las Vegas and force them into sexual contact despite their protests. Jane Doe 1 alleged Robinson sexually battered 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 \u201cblue bedroom,\u201d where he would lock the door and place a white towel on his bed so he wouldn\u2019t \u201csoil the bed lines.\u201d The woman claimed Robinson ignored her resistance and would \u201croughly penetrate\u201d her without using a condom.<\/p>\n
\n\tJane Doe 2 alleged she worked for Robinson and his wife between May 2014 and February 2020. She claimed Robinson forced her into unwanted sexual acts on at least 23 occasions. She said Robinson would force her to perform oral sex on him before he penetrated her without using a condom. She claimed he \u201cenjoyed ejaculating all over [her] face, much to his satisfaction and her abject humiliation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tIn their cross-complaint, Robinson and his wife claimed the former housekeepers conspired with their lawyers to make \u201cslanderous statements\u201d against the couple at their press conference. They claimed the Jane Does and their lawyers \u201cfabricated\u201d the claims to extort money.<\/p>\n
\n\tAccording to the Robinsons, they treated the women \u201cas extended family\u201d during their employment, giving them autonomy in their jobs and substantial gifts, including money for dental work, clothing, vacations, concert tickets, and even a car in one case.<\/p>\n
\t\tTrending Stories<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n
\n\t\u201cThe depths of plaintiffs\u2019 avarice and greed know no bounds. During the very time that the Robinsons were being extraordinarily generous with plaintiffs, plaintiffs were concocting an extortionate plan to take everything from the Robinsons \u2013 everything over and above what they were freely given \u2013 and wrongfully destroy the Robinsons\u2019 well-built reputations,\u201d the 19-page cross-complaint obtained by Rolling Stone<\/em> said.<\/p>\n \n\tLawyers for the women did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A judge ruled Thursday that the four housekeepers suing Smokey Robinson for sexual assault can move forward with their $50 million lawsuit against the Motown star using pseudonyms. Robinson had filed a motion asking the court to strike down the women\u2019s complaint and force them to refile using their real names if they wanted to<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20617,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[12681,12683,360,12682,12680,359,12679],"class_list":{"0":"post-20616","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-accusers","9":"tag-anonymously","10":"tag-assault","11":"tag-proceed","12":"tag-robinsons","13":"tag-sexual","14":"tag-smokey"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20616","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20616"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20616\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/20617"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20616"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20616"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20616"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}