COUNTRY music star Garth Brooks has hit back at allegations he sexually assaulted an employee, insisting threats to make the claims public have been like a “loaded gun” in his face.
The singer, 62, is accused of raping his hair-and-makeup stylist in a hotel while the pair traveled together in 2019.
Singer Garth Brooks attends a reception for the 2022 Kennedy Center honorees hosted by President Joe Biden at the White House on December 4, 2022Getty
GettyBrooks pictured performing at the 54th annual ASCAP Country Music Awards in 2016[/caption]
The allegations were filed by his accuser, referred to in the lawsuit only as Jane Roe, at Los Angeles Superior Court on Thursday.
The woman says that she started working for Brooks in 2017 after having worked for Brooks’ wife, country singer Trisha Yearwood, since 1999.
She alleges that the assault took place when she and Brooks traveled from Nashville to Los Angeles together while he performed with soul singer Sam Moore at a Grammy Awards tribute in October 2019.
The lawsuit claims the pair were alone on his private jet for the trip, and he booked just one hotel suite for both of them.
Roe alleges that Brooks appeared naked in the doorway of the suite’s bedroom and raped her.
She then claims he proceeded as though nothing had happened and expected her to do his hair and makeup as normal.
Addressing the allegations in a statement on Thursday, Brooks insisted he is “not the man they have painted me to be.”
“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 said.
“It has been like having a loaded gun waved in my face.”
As well as the hotel allegations, Roe’s lawsuit claims that earlier in 2019, when she was at Brooks’ home, he had appeared naked in front of her and put her hands on his genitals.
The woman’s suit claims Brooks exposed himself to her many other times and sent her explicit text messages.
She claims she was forced to keep working for Brooks because she needed the money.
Brooks filed a preemptive lawsuit in federal court in Mississippi last month in which both he and the woman are anonymous.
In that suit, obtained by The U.S. Sun, Brooks, under the pseudonym John Doe, said the allegations are “wholly untrue.”
Brooks said in the suit that he first learned of the allegations in July when his accuser threatened to go public and sue him unless he gave her millions of dollars.
The singer went on to ask a judge to stop the woman from “intentional infliction of emotional distress, defamation, and false light invasion of privacy.”
In his statement last night, Brooks said that “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.”
He added: “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.”
Garth Brooks’ statement in full
“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.”
Attorney Douglas Wigdor, who is representing Brooks’ accuser, told The U.S. Sun, “I cannot get into settlement discussions, but the suggestion made by Brooks that he was unwilling to pay millions is simply not true.
“It seems as though Sean Combs and Garth Brooks are using the same public relations team by attacking legitimate victims. We are very confident in our case and over time the public will see his true character rather than his highly curated persona.”
Brooks performed at the Colosseum at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, where he has a residency until March 2025, after the allegations were made public on Thursday.
He later shared an emotional post thanking fans on Instagram.
“If there was ever a night that I really needed this, TONIGHT was that night! Thank you for my life!!!!!” he wrote.
Brooks, America’s biggest country star of the 1990s who crossed over into mainstream success, is best known for his hits “Friends in Low Places” and “The Thunder Rolls.”
When approached for comment, representatives for Brooks referred The U.S. Sun to his statement and preemptive lawsuit.
SplashA sign outside Brooks’ residency at the Colosseum at Caesar’s Palace[/caption]
GettyGarth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood attend the 17th Academy Of Country Music Honors at Ryman Auditorium on August 21, 2024 in Nashville, Tennessee[/caption]
