Country music superstar, Garth Brooks, has been accused of raping and battering his former hairstylist and make-up artist. According to The New York Post, the award-winning singer is maintaining his innocence, comparing the allegations to “having a loaded gun waved” in his face. The lawsuit, claiming sexual assault and battery and filed on Thursday in a California court by a woman who is recognized only as ‘Jane Roe,’ says Brooks allegedly raped her in a hotel room during a work trip where she felt “trapped” and alone with the singer. It also alleges Brooks repeatedly exposed 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 filed in the case, all of which allegedly occurred 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.” In the lawsuit, the complainant 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. “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,” reports The Post, adding the complaint also claims “Usually there were others on Brooks’ private jet but this time, Ms. Roe and Brooks were the only two passengers” and “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. CNN also reports 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.” In his complaint Brooks claimed Roe’s attorney sent him a confidential demand letter alleging sexual misconduct after he declined her request for “salaried employment and medical benefits,” CNN reports. “But Roe’s attorneys believe the preemptive complaint was an act of desperation to intimidate and silence his accuser.” In a statement from his publicist, Brooks said he filed the anonymous complaint nearly a month ago for the “sake of families on both sides” and to speak out against extortion and defamation of character, adds CNN. “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 (sic) for many millions of dollars. It has been like having a loaded gun waved in my face,” Brooks said in the statement. “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.” Brooks statement added he wants to continue playing music and his “good deeds” going forward, but his heart “breaks” that his integrity is being questioned. “I trust the system, I do not fear the truth and I am not the man they have painted me to be,” he said. None of the claims have been proven in a court of law.
