A new lawsuit filed in California state court alleges country star Garth Brooks sexually assaulted and battered a hair and makeup artist working for him.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday by a “Jane Roe,” alleges the incidents happened over the course of several years while Roe was working for Brooks, who has denied the accusations.
In the 27-page lawsuit, Roe makes several allegations against the country singer. She alleges that in 2019, Brooks forced her to touch his erect penis while she was at his home to style his hair. That same year, Roe alleges, Brooks brought her to Los Angeles to style him for an event and then raped her in a hotel room.
Roe’s suit also accuses Brooks of repeatedly exposing his genitals and buttocks to her, talking about sex, sharing sexual fantasies and sending sexually explicit text messages.
The lawsuit goes on to say Brooks attempted to cover up his alleged harassment of Roe, going as far as to surreptitiously take her phone and delete explicit texts he’d sent her.
Brooks did not respond to TODAY.com’s request for comment.
The lawsuit notes Roe first worked for Brooks’ wife, Trisha Yearwood, starting in 1999 and only started working for Brooks in 2017. Roe moved to Mississippi in 2021, the lawsuit says.
In a statement, Roe’s legal team — Douglas H. Wigdor, Jeanne M. Christensen, and Hayley Baker — said Brooks tried to “silence” Roe with a preemptive complaint filed in Mississippi.
The Sept. 13 Mississippi complaint was filed by a “John Doe” who is a “celebrity and public figure who resides in Tennessee.”
In the filing, Doe alleged Roe is lying to extort him for money and to damage his reputation. The Mississippi complaint also alleged Roe threatened to file her complaint in California only because Doe refused to give her a raise and pay for health insurance.
“(Roe’s) false allegations and her threats to wrongfully assassinate (Brooks’) character through the public airing of such revulsive and untrue allegations have caused (Brooks) emotional distress including anxiety and fear for himself and his family,” the Mississippi complaint reads. “(Roe’s) attempted extortion of (Brooks) for millions of dollars through such untrue, lewd allegations constitutes intentional, outrageous conduct that was intended to and did in fact cause (Brooks) serious mental injury, amounting to an intentional infliction of emotional distress.”
In a statement Thursday, Brooks’ team confirmed he was the Doe in the Mississippi complaint and said he has been “hassled to no end” ahead of Roe’s filing.
“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,” Brooks said. “Hush money, no matter how much or how little, is still hush money. In my mind, that means I am admitting to behavior I am incapable of — ugly acts no human should ever do to another. “
The statement continues, “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.”
“I want to play music tonight. I want to continue our good deeds going forward. It breaks my heart these wonderful things are in question now,” Brooks said in the statement. “I trust the system, I do not fear the truth, and I am not the man they have painted me to be.”
Brooks’ complaint is seeking damages, “a declaratory judgment that Defendant’s allegations against him of sexual misconduct are untrue,” an injunction to stop Roe from filing her suit, and a jury trial.
Roe’s lawsuit is seeking damages and a jury trial.
“We applaud our client’s courage in moving forward with her complaint against Garth Brooks,” Roe’s legal team wrote in a statement. “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.
“We are confident that Brooks will be held accountable for his actions and his efforts to silence our client through the filing of a preemptive complaint in Mississippi was nothing other than an act of desperation and attempted intimidation,” the statement concludes. “We encourage others who may have been victimized to contact us as no survivor should suffer in silence.”