Smokey Robinson's lawyer has described rape and sexual assault allegations against the singer as "vile" and "false".
Lawyer Christopher Frost said in a statement that the evidence "will show that this is simply an ugly method of trying to extract money from an 85-year-old American icon".
The suit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday accuses the Motown singer of sexually assaulting four women between 2007 and 2024. The women, who worked as housekeepers in Robinson's Los Angeles home, are seeking at least $50 million in damages.
Robinson’s wife, Frances Robinson, is also named as a defendant for allegedly enabling his behaviour and creating an abusive work environment.
"We will be addressing the numerous aspects of the complaint that defy credulity as well as issues relating to purported timelines, inconsistencies, and relationships between the plaintiffs and others," Mr Frost said.
Th women each allege that Robinson waited until he was alone with them before sexually assaulting and raping them, in some cases over rmany years.
The women’s lawyer, John Harris, called Robinson a "serial rapist" and said "he must be stopped" at a news conference on Tuesday.
Mr Frost called the news conference "bizarre theatrics", and an attempt to "enlist the public as an unwitting participant in the media circus they are trying to create".
He added: "We ask anyone following this case to reserve judgment as the evidence comes to light and all the actual facts of the case unfold."
Robinson, a member of both the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame, was one of Motown Records' biggest hitmakers in the 1960s. He rose to fame with his group The Miracles and later as a solo artist, with hits including Tears of a Clown and The Tracks of My Tears.
Source: Press Association
