[Warning: The following contains discussion of sexual assault.]
Garth Brooks has been accused of rape, battery, and repeated sexual misconduct in a federal lawsuit filed on behalf of an unnamed makeup artist on October 3. The woman, who is named Jane Roe in the filing to protect her privacy, worked for Brooks’ wife, singer Trisha Yearwood, for years before she began working for Brooks in 2017.
The lawsuit accuses Brooks of raping Roe in a Los Angeles hotel room during a 2019 work trip. The suit also alleges that Brooks repeatedly exposed his genitals and buttocks to Roe, repeatedly told Roe about a specific sexual fantasy he had about her, and made other sexually explicit remarks to her both before and after the alleged sexual assault.
The lawsuit was filed in California and says that the trauma from the alleged rape led Roe to consider suicide.
Roe was first hired by Yearwood in 1999 for makeup and hairstyling and worked for the singer repeatedly over the years, among other celebrities. She then started working for Brooks in 2017, the document says, adding that Brooks allegedly learned of Roe’s financial hardships in 2019 and took “advantage” of that information.
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The suit alleges that Brooks first tried to force a sexual encounter in 2019, and then the alleged rape took place in a LA hotel room later that year when they were in the city for a Grammy tribute to Sam Moore. Roe traveled to LA with Brooks for work, but she was reportedly the only other passenger on the plane with the singer. The suit says that Roe repeatedly rejected Brooks’ advances.
According to the document, Brooks filed a preemptive complaint lawsuit against Roe in September in Mississippi (she moved to the state in 2021).
“Defendant’s allegations are not true,” Brooks’ previous lawsuit states, per CNN. “Defendant is well aware, however, of the substantial, irreparable damage such false allegations would do to Plaintiff’s well-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 that would result if she made good on her threat to ‘publicly file’ her fabricated lawsuit.”
The plaintiff is represented by Douglas Wigdor, who represented several people who filed lawsuits against Harvey Weinstein and other celebrities in the #MeToo era.
“We are confident that Brooks will be held accountable for his actions,” attorneys Wigdor, Jeanne M. Christensen, and Hayley Baker said in a statement to CNN. “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.”
If you or someone you know is the victim of sexual assault, contact the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network‘s National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). If you or a loved one are in immediate danger, call 911.
If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or dial 988. If you or a loved one are in immediate danger, call 911.
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