Smokey Robinson defends JLo: Motown's not 'just music for black people'

LOS ANGELES – Speaking angrily after two days of backlash, Smokey Robinson said Tuesday afternoon that those protesting Jennifer Lopez's Grammy performance are "trying to set us back a hundred years" while forgetting that Motown set out to break racial barriers.

"Stop hating," he said. "Motown united people, not divided them."

Talking with the Detroit Free Press during rehearsals for the Grammys' Tuesday night Motown tribute show, the Detroit-born star was heated and emphatic as he read a prepared statement.

"Don't call yourself (a Motown lover) if you're a hater and spreading the same bigotry that you so strongly oppose coming at you from others," Robinson said. "JLo was great and we at Motown love her."

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Robinson was part of Lopez's Sunday night set, a medley of Motown hits. Backlash to Lopez had simmered since she was announced days earlier, with many saying the Latina pop star was the wrong choice to represent Motown and its towering legacy in black American culture.Robinson was at LA's Microsoft Theater ahead of Tuesday night's taping of "Motown 60: A Grammy Celebration." The show will air April 21 on CBS.

Robinson had already defended Lopez's appearance ahead of Sunday night's Grammys, but said he was spurred to write the new statement because "so many people are talking negatively about it. It's ridiculous."

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Smokey Robinson's full statement on Jennifer Lopez's Grammy performance:

Attention, all those of you who protested a wonderful, super-talented, world renowned superstar like Jennifer Lopez showing her love and support for Motown music. Here's some food for thought: On the very first day of Motown, Berry Gordy told the five of us who were present, "I'm gonna start my own record company and we're gonna make music for everybody and always be sure to make quality music that the world can enjoy." 

And through the grace of God and hard work and determination, we accomplished that. Kids of all races, worldwide, grew up loving the music of Motown, imitating our acts — pretending to be Diana Ross, the Temptations, Michael Jackson and so on. Parents were and still are turning their kids on to the music of Motown.

So now you're gonna try to diminish the scope of Motown and narrow it down to just music for black people, and you call yourself defending the image of Motown. Well you're trying to set us back a hundred years. If you call yourself loving Motown, be happy that we reached so many people and broke down so many racial barriers and that an artist like Jennifer, even after hearing all your negative comments, still loved Motown enough to do the tribute anyway. Now that's love and respect. 

And I guess since you feel that way about an artist of another ethnicity doing a tribute to Motown, you must have hated Teena Marie, Rare Earth and some of our other white artists. Stop hating. Motown united people, not divided them.

So don't call yourself loving Motown if you're a hater and spreading the same bigotry that you so strongly oppose coming at you from others. JLo was great and we at Motown love her. The beauty of Motown is that we're a family made up of black, white,  Hispanic and Asian women and men. We had a very diverse employee roster. So I hope knowing these few facts helps you get your perspective together and think about the hate you're spreading.

God bless you.

Smokey Robinson