Smokey Robinson’s $50M Suit: Attorney Labels It ‘Vile Extortion’
Plot twist: Smokey Robinson’s camp is calling a $50 million sexual assault lawsuit pure extortion, and they’re not holding back. The Motown legend, 84, is accused by a woman who alleges he assaulted her decades ago, but his attorney, Bryan Freedman, just dropped a statement blasting the claims as “vile, false allegations” (People Magazine) and an “outrageous shakedown” (Dotdash Meredith).
Here’s how it went down: on April 15, a civil suit landed in LA Superior Court, with the plaintiff seeking a half-century’s worth of damages for alleged misconduct in the early ’80s. Freedman’s response, filed mere hours later, paints a totally different picture—no court records, no witnesses, no paper trail, so he argues, just a cash grab. He even points to travel and phone logs that, according to Robinson’s team, contradict the timeline in the complaint.
Freedman’s full-throated denial leaned heavily on character references from industry insiders who’ve known Robinson since his hits days at Motown. He called the timing “suspicious,” noting that no previous civil or criminal complaints ever materialized—something he says any legitimate survivor would have pursued long ago. Then there’s the fact Smokey’s former bandmates and tour managers are lining up to vouch for his whereabouts, per court filings.
On the flip side, the plaintiff’s attorney insists their client has been silenced for decades and that $50 million is the only way to compel the music icon to face questions under oath. They’ve cited private journals and contemporaneous notes to back up her memory of specific shows and backstage encounters.
Media outlets have been buzzing since People Magazine first broke the story on April 17, and Dotdash Meredith’s legal desk has been parsing every word of Freedman’s scathing retort. Social feeds are lit with fans rallying behind Smokey, while advocates for survivors are warning against dismissing claims simply because they’re old.
No judge has weighed in yet, but both sides have exchanged motions to expedite discovery. If this drama follows other high-profile cases, we’ll likely see depositions, sealed documents and maybe a surprise twist or two down the road.
Stay tuned—this saga is far from over, and if it keeps trending, don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Sources: Celebrity Storm and People Magazine, Dotdash Meredith
Attribution: Creative Commons Licensed
