Photo Credit: Library of Congress
Garth Brooks says the claims made in a recent sexual assault lawsuit from a makeup artist are an attempt at extortion.
The complaint was filed in California and alleges that the make-up artist Jane Roe “endured painful and traumatic rape and sexual assault at the hands of Brooks.” The lawsuit alleges the inappropriate behavior began in 2019 when Ms. Roe was at the Brooks home on a styling appointment. She says she looked up to find Brooks emerging from the shower naked with an erection. Roe alleges that he forced her to touch his erection while requesting she perform sex acts.
The lawsuit alleges another incident in 2019 that Ms. Roe was physically dominated and raped by Brooks while employed for an event. Following the rape, Ms. Roe alleges she was pressured by time to continue business as usual to style his hair and make-up for the event he was attending. Roe says she repeatedly warded off his sexual conduct but became subject to verbal and physically inappropriate attacks.
In response to the allegations laid forth in the lawsuit, Brooks says, “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. It has been like having a loaded gun waved in my face.”
Last month, Brooks filed a lawsuit against. Ms. Jane Roe in Mississippi, which his team calls an attempt to preempt her going public with the allegations. But Ms. Roe’s lawyers believe the preemptive complaint in Mississippi was timed to proceed anonymously after learning of her plan to file her complaint in California.
“We applaud our client’s courage in moving forward with her complaint against Garth Brooks,” reads a statement provided by Douglas H. Wigdor, Jeanne M. Christensen, and Haley Baker. “The complaint filed today demonstrated 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.”
“We are confident that Brooks will be held accountable for his actions and his efforts to silence our client through the filing of a pre-emptive complaint in Mississippi was nothing other than an act of desperation and attempted intimidation. We courage others who may have been victimized to contact us as no survivor should suffer in silence.”
