Garth Brooks Sued For Sexual Assault
Garth Brooks has been sued by a makeup artist and hairstylist, who has accused him of raping her at a Los Angeles hotel in 2019, according to various sources, including The Hollywood Reporter. A lawsuit filed by “Jane Roe” in Los Angeles Superior Court contains allegations of sexual assault, battery, and violations of California laws providing protections from intimidation and coercion.
According to Variety, the woman also accused Brooks of exposing himself to her on multiple occasions, and she alleges that the trauma from the rape was so severe she contemplated suicide. The lawsuit says, “Brooks is desperate to prevent his millions of fans from learning about the horrific things he has said and done to a junior female employee who did nothing to deserve such treatment.”
Brooks was apparently aware of the impending lawsuit. According to the complaint, he filed a preemptive lawsuit last month against the woman in a federal court in Mississippi. According to Variety, the plaintiff in that suit alleges that the woman threatened to ruin his reputation by filing a sexual abuse lawsuit unless he gave her a multimillion-dollar payout. That suit was filed anonymously. The plaintiff was described as a “celebrity and public figure who resides in Tennessee,” and was referred to as “John Doe.” That suit states claims of attempted extortion, defamation, and infliction of emotional distress.
The New York Times goes into more graphic details alleged in the Jane Roe suit. It notes that the woman was “experiencing financial difficulties” in 2019, but did not stop working for Brooks because she needed the work. The suit alleges that Brooks continued to harass her, including sending her “suggestive text messages.” The suit also alleges that in 2020 he took her phone and deleted some of his texts to her.
According to Fox News, the woman was first hired in 1999 to style Trisha Yearwood; she began working for Brooks in 2017, a few years before the alleged crimes took place. USA Today reported that Jane Doe’s legal team released a statement saying, “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. We encourage others who may have been victimized to contact us as no survivor should suffer in silence.”
At press time, neither Brooks nor Yearwood have commented on the lawsuit.
