Garth Brooks sued by makeup artist for alleged rape and sexual assault

A makeup artist sued Garth Brooks on Thursday, alleging the country star raped her in a hotel room and subjected her to unwanted sexual conduct on other occasions, including texting her obscene and groping her breasts.

The woman, identified as Jane Roe in the lawsuit, also accused Brooks of exposing himself to her on multiple occasions. She says the trauma from the rape was so severe that she considered suicide.

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“Brooks desperately wants to prevent his millions of fans from learning about the horrible things he said and did to a young employee who did nothing to deserve such treatment,” the lawsuit states.

According to the complaint, Brooks filed a preventative action against the woman last month in federal court in Mississippi.

The plaintiff in that suit alleges that the woman threatened to ruin his reputation by filing a sexual abuse lawsuit unless he paid her a multimillion-dollar settlement.

The federal complaint was filed anonymously, describing the plaintiff only as a “celebrity and public figure residing in Tennessee.” The plaintiff, John Doe, alleges attempted extortion, defamation and infliction of emotional distress.

“Defendant’s allegations are not true,” the complaint states. “Defendant’s publication of these false allegations was not privileged but was done with malice, ill will, and for the improper purpose of extorting unjustified payment from Plaintiff.”

The suit, filed September 13, seeks an injunction stopping him from continuing his “extortionary conduct,” as well as compensatory damages.

The woman is represented by Douglas Wigdor, who has filed numerous #MeToo lawsuits against Harvey Weinstein and other powerful figures.

“We applaud our client’s courage in moving forward with his complaint against Garth Brooks,” Wigdor and his co-counsels, Jeanne Christensen and Hayley Baker, said in a statement. “Today’s complaint demonstrates that sexual predators exist not only in corporate America, in Hollywood and in the rap and rock and roll industries, but also in the world of country music. We are confident that Brooks will be held accountable for his actions and his efforts to silence our client by filing a preemptive lawsuit in Mississippi was nothing more than an act of desperation and attempted intimidation.

The woman says she began working for Trisha Yearwood, Brooks’ wife, as a makeup artist and hairstylist in 1999. She alleges she began working for Brooks in 2017, and that she made more often in 2019, when she was experiencing financial difficulties. problems.

The suit alleges she was at Brooks’ home when he came out of the shower naked with an erection. She alleges that Brooks forced her to touch his penis and urged her to perform oral sex. She refused but continued to work for him.

In May 2019, she alleges that Brooks traveled to Los Angeles for a Grammy Awards tribute and booked a hotel where they would both stay. She alleges that Brooks violently raped her in the hotel room.

Afterward, she alleges that Brooks often discussed sexual fantasies in front of her, sent her lascivious text messages and stared at her breasts. She alleges he pressured her to open her shirt so he could grope her breasts and then masturbate.

The woman filed the complaint in Los Angeles state court under the state’s sexual abuse and cover-up liability law.

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