Photo Credit: Garth Brooks by John Mathew Smith / CC by 2.0
Garth Brooks has been accused of sexual assault and battery in a new lawsuit from a former makeup artist who worked with the singer.
Country music star Garth Brooks has been sued by a woman who worked as a makeup artist and hairstylist for the singer and accuses Brooks of sexual assault and battery. The complaint, filed by Jane Roe in a California state court on Thursday, October 3, claims the assault occurred in 2019, when she says Brooks raped her on a work trip.
As first reported by CNN, an anonymous celebrity plaintiff, who has since been revealed to be Brooks, attempted to block Roe from publicly repeating her allegations against him and fiercely denied the claims.
Roe became the makeup and hairstylist for Brooks in 2017, according to her filing, which says she was first hired as the makeup and hairstylist for Brooks’ wife, singer Trisha Yearwood, in 1999. In addition to the sexual assault, the suit also accuses Brooks of repeatedly exposing himself to Roe, talking about sex and sharing sexual fantasies with her, regularly changing his clothes in front of her, and sending sexually explicit text messages.
The lawsuit recounts one alleged incident in 2019, when Roe was at Brooks’ home for work, and Brooks walked out of the shower naked. He “grabbed her hands and forced them” onto his genitals while he spoke to her with sexually explicit language. Another alleged incident in May 2019 describes Brooks raping Roe in a hotel room during a work trip to Los Angeles where the country singer was recording a Grammy tribute performance.
“Usually there were others on Brooks’ private jet, but this time, Ms. Roe and Brooks were the only two passengers,” the filing states. “Once in Los Angeles at the hotel, Ms. Roe could not believe that Brooks had booked a hotel suite with one bedroom and she did not have a separate room.”
Roe alleges Brooks “appeared in the doorway to the bedroom, completely naked,” and she says she felt “trapped in the room alone with Brooks.” Even after the alleged rape, Roe claims Brooks continued to tell her his sexual fantasies, now with more frequency, and physically groped her. Roe says Brooks made “repeated remarks” about “having a threesome” with his wife.
Brooks, who filed a prior complaint as John Doe, claims Roe’s attorney sent him a “confidential demand letter” alleging sexual misconduct after he declined her requests for “salaried employment and medical benefits.” Brooks’ lawsuit states, “Defendant’s allegations are not true, [and] defendant is well aware […] of the substantial, irreparable damage such false allegations would do to Plaintiff’s wel-earned reputation as a decent and caring person, along with the unavoidable damage to his family and the irreparable damage to his career and livelihood.”
In response, Roe’s attorneys told CNN, “[Brooks’] efforts to silence our cilent through the filing of a preemptive complaint in Mississippi was nothing other than an act of desperation and attempted intimidation.”
“We are confident that Brooks will be held accountable for his actions,” said attorneys Douglas H. Wigdor, Jeanne M. Christensen, and Hayley Baker. “We applaud our client’s courage in moving forward with her complaint against Garth Brooks. The complaint filed today demonstrates that sexual predators exist not only in corporate America, Hollywood, and in the rap and rock and roll industries, but also in the world of country music.”
Once he was revealed as the alleged perpetrator, Brooks said in a statement to CNN: “For the last two months, I have been hassled to no end with threats, lies, and tragic tales of what my future would be if I did not write a check for many millions of dollars.”
“Hush money, no matter how much or how little, is still hush money,” he added. “In my mind, that means I am admitting to behavior I am incapable of — ugly acts no human should ever do to another. […] We filed suit against this person nearly a month ago to speak out against extortion and defamation of character. We filed it anonymously for the sake of families on both sides.”
