A Los Angeles judge has dismissed the central defamation claims from Motown legend Smokey Robinson’s $500 million countersuit against former employees who have accused him of sexual assault, dealing a significant blow to the 86-year-old singer’s legal counteroffensive.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Kevin C. Brazile ruled on Thursday that there was insufficient evidence to hold Robinson’s former anonymous housekeepers and their lawyers liable for publicly calling the singer a rapist at a press conference, finding that Robinson failed to meet the high legal bar required for defamation claims by a public figure.
The judge found that the statements made at the press conference relate to a matter of public interest because they concern sexual assault allegations against a prominent musician, and that the evidence of actual malice — meaning the accusers knowingly made false statements — did not approach the clear and convincing standard required under California law.
However, the judge did not dismiss the countersuit in its entirety. Robinson’s claims for emotional distress, financial elder abuse, conversion, invasion of privacy, and a violation of the Penal Code — including allegations that employees stole personal property and deleted information from the couple’s phones — were allowed to proceed.
Attorney John Harris, representing the accusers, welcomed the ruling. He described the countersuit as a retaliatory attempt to intimidate and punish women for speaking out, saying California’s anti-SLAPP law, designed to prevent courts from being used to silence people exercising their First Amendment rights, existed to stop exactly this kind of conduct.
Robinson’s attorney Christopher Frost said the defence disagreed with the dismissal but acknowledged some claims remain. “Obviously we believe the court’s ruling is incorrect in the claims it did dismiss. There is plenty of evidence of actual malice on the part of the attorneys,” he said, adding that the defence’s focus remains on proving the underlying allegations are untrue and fabricated.
The case originated in May 2025 when four women identified as Jane Does filed a $50 million lawsuit alleging Robinson repeatedly sexually assaulted them at his Chatsworth home. Two additional plaintiffs joined the case in November 2025. Robinson denied all wrongdoing and filed the countersuit shortly after the original complaint was submitted.
A trial on the sexual assault allegations is tentatively scheduled for October 2027.
