Country music star Garth Brooks has been accused of raping and battering a woman who claims she worked as his hairstylist and makeup artist.
The lawsuit, filed in a California court on Thursday by a woman only referred to as “Jane Roe,” states the Grammy Award-winning singer allegedly raped her in a hotel room during a work trip where she felt “trapped” and alone with Brooks.
In addition to sexual assault and battery, Brooks, 62, is also accused of repeatedly exposing his genitals and buttocks; talking about sex and sharing sexual fantasies with Roe; regularly changing his clothing in front of her; and sending her sexually explicit text messages, according to the complaint in the case, obtained by CNN.
The suit alleges these incidents happened in 2019.
“We are confident that Brooks will be held accountable for his actions,” attorneys Douglas H. 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.”
The woman who filed the suit said she was first hired as a hair and makeup artist for Brooks’ wife, Trisha Yearwood, in 1999, but was moved to Brooks’ team in 2017, the suit states.
In her filing, Roe accused the “Friends in Low Places” singer of raping her in a hotel room after the pair traveled alone in his private jet to Los Angeles for a Grammy taping in May 2019, alleging the country star “appeared in the doorway to the bedroom, completely naked” making her feel “trapped in the room alone with Brooks.”
“Usually there were others on Brooks’ private jet but this time, Ms. Roe and Brooks were the only two passengers,” the complaint 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.”
After the alleged rape, Roe said Brooks physically groped her and made “repeated remarks” about “having a threesome” with his wife, according to the filing.
Roe also accused Brooks, in another alleged incident, of walking out of his shower naked while the pair worked at his home, grabbing her hands and forcing them onto his genitals, while he spoke to her in a sexually explicit way, according to CNN.
Brooks previously denied his accuser’s allegations and attempted to block Roe from publicly repeating her allegations, according to a previous complaint he had filed as “John Doe,” CNN reported.
Brooks claimed that Roe’s attorney sent him a “confidential” demand letter alleging sexual misconduct after he declined her request for “salaried employment and medical benefits,” CNN reported.
“Defendant’s allegations are not true,” Brooks’ previous lawsuit states.
“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.”
Roe’s attorneys told CNN that Brooks’ preemptive complaint was an act of desperation to intimidate and silence Roe.
