Garth Brooks Sued For Sexual Assault Over Alleged Rape of Employee

Country music iconGarth Brookshas been sued by his makeup artist and hairstylist, who accuses him of raping her at a Los Angeles hotel in 2019.

The “Jane Roe,” in a lawsuit filed on Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court, advances allegations of sexual assault, battery and violations of California laws providing protections from intimidation and coercion. In addition to rape, she claims he repeatedly groped and subjected her to sexually explicit comments.

Prior to the filing of the complaint, Brooks — while in settlement negotiations with the unnamed plaintiff — preemptively filed a lawsuit in federal court in Mississippi to block the accuser from suing. In that lawsuit, Brooks, who filed as a “John Doe” and described himself as a “celebrity and public figure who resides in Tennessee,” claimed that he’s being extorted over his refusal to give the accuser a raise and pay for health insurance.

In a statement, Brooks denied the accusations. “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,” he added.

The lawsuit claims Brooks violently raped the accuser when she traveled with him to a Los Angeles show in May 2019. When they arrived at the hotel, the singer restrained and pulled her onto the bed, the lawsuit alleges. Roe claims he then “held her small body upside down by her feet and penetrated her.”

The lawsuit says the assault was premeditated since Brooks only booked a single suite without separate rooms and insisted that no other employees join him on the trip.

Leading up to and after the alleged rape, Roe alleges that the country music star groped “her breasts any time he could” and forced her to expose her breasts to him. He repeatedly threatened to “mess around” with her before becoming visibly angry when she refused, the lawsuit says.

“Her fears that he would subject her to unwanted sex were justified one morning when Ms. Roe went to Brooks’ room to do his hair and make-up, he was on the bed, face down, wearing loose shorts and holding his crotch,” the complaint states. “She narrowly escaped another sexual assault because he was running late and other people were waiting to pick him up.”

The situation reached a boiling point in 2020 when Roe, in an email that was also sent to Brooks’ wife, said she couldn’t “work in an environment where explicit sexual comments are made,” according to the lawsuit. The accuser says she contemplated suicide after the incident.

In his lawsuit, Brooks claimed that Roe “falsely accused” him of sexual misconduct. He sought a court order to prevent her from bringing a complaint.

Roe’s legal team includes Douglas Wigdor, a lawyer for several accusers who’ve brought lawsuits against high-profile figures in the entertainment and music industries. He represented Cassie Ventura in a lawsuit that sparked a federal investigation into Sean Combs, as well as Julia Ormond in a lawsuit against Harvey Weinstein, CAA and Disney, among several others.

A representative for Brooks didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Read the full statement below.

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.

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.

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.  I trust the system, I do not fear the truth, and I am not the man they have painted me to be.

Oct. 4, 9:10 a.m.This story has been updated with a statement from Brooks.