Garth Brooks accused in rape and sexual assault lawsuit: NPR

Country star Garth Brooks is accused of rape and sexual assault in a lawsuit filed Thursday.

An unnamed woman says she was repeatedly harassed by Brooks while working as a makeup artist and was raped in 2019. She added that he tried to portray himself as a victim when he filed his own lawsuit against her last month.

In a statement issued late Thursday, Brooks denied the allegations. “I was plagued endlessly with threats, lies and tragic stories about what my future would be if I didn't write a multi-million dollar check. It was like a loaded gun was being held in my face.”

According to the lawsuit filed by the woman's lawyers in a California Superior Court, the woman, identified only as Jane Roe, had been hired to do makeup for Brooks' wife, Trisha Yearwood, since 1999. She began experiencing financial difficulties in 2019. She says Brooks helped by offering her more work.

The woman claims Brooks took advantage of her need to work. She says Brooks showed her his genitals later in 2019. In another case, Brooks allegedly raped her in a Los Angeles hotel suite while Brooks was preparing for a Grammy honor.

“With cold disregard from Ms. Roe, when Brooks was finished, everything went as usual,” the complaint says. “MS. Roe worked quickly to style his hair and do his makeup for the event so he would be on time.”

The woman says Brooks claimed to have received a cryptic text message after the alleged rape that said Brooks had “ruined his life.”

At the time, she had not worked for Brooks for several months, leading Brooks to suspect that the woman's husband may have sent the text messages, the complaint says.

Brooks allegedly told the woman, “That’s what I thought. Oh crap! So I tried to seek you out to talk to you… or whatever I needed to do, but I just don't want to hurt anyone, man. And just… I just felt bad.”

During her time with Brooks, from 2017 to 2021, the woman claims he also sent her sexually explicit text messages, frequently changed clothes in front of her, and regularly groped her while she worked on his hair and makeup.

She is suing for sexual assault and assault and is seeking monetary and punitive damages, legal fees and a jury trial.

Brooks filed a federal lawsuit against the woman last month, alleging she was trying to extort money from him and defame his character in response to his failure to hire her as an employee or pay her for medical services.

He says the woman sent him a letter in July claiming she had been sexually abused and that Brooks had planned to kill her, his lawsuit says.

Brooks claims he received another letter the next month in which the woman said she would not release her nudes if he paid her millions of dollars.

In his statement, Brooks said, “Hush money, no matter how much or how little, is still hush money.” For me, that means admitting to behavior that I am incapable of – ugly acts that no human being would commit to another should do.”

He is also seeking monetary and punitive damages, attorney's fees and a jury trial, as well as a court declaration that the woman's claims are false.

“I trust the system, I'm not afraid of the truth and I'm not the man they made me out to be,” he said.