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Garth Brooks performs in Vegas amid sexual assault allegations: ‘I needed this’
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Garth Brooks performs in Vegas amid sexual assault allegations: ‘I needed this’

The show went on for Garth Brooks amid his sexual assault trial.

The country star shared an emotional Instagram post Thursday after performing in Las Vegas after a former employee filed a lawsuit accusing him of sexual assault and rape.

“If there was ever a night I really needed this, TONIGHT was that night! Thank you for my life!!!!! Love, g,” Brooks, 62, wrote alongside a photo of himself performing to a sold-out crowd.

Garth Brooks will host the 58th Academy of Country Music Awards in Frisco, Texas, on May 11, 2023. REUTERS

The singer is in the middle of his residency at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, which began in May 2023 and will last until early 2025.

Earlier that day, news broke that a woman who claims she worked as a hairstylist and makeup artist accused Brooks of rape and assault, but the Country Music Awards winner has maintained his innocence. He compared the accusations to “waving a loaded gun” in his face.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in a California court by a woman identified only as “Jane Roe,” alleges that Brooks allegedly raped her in a hotel room, where she was alone and felt “captured” by the artist. At the time, in May 2019, the couple had reportedly just traveled alone on his private jet to Los Angeles for a Grammy taping.

The alleged victim was first hired in 1999 as a hair and makeup artist for Brooks’ wife, Trisha Yearwood, but was then transferred to Brooks’ team in 2017, the complaint said.

Garth Brooks played to a sold-out crowd amid sexual assault allegations. Instagram / @garthbrooks
Garth Brooks has returned to the stage.

In addition to assault and battery, Brooks is accused of repeatedly exposing his genitals and buttocks, talking about sex and sharing sexual fantasies with Roe, frequently changing clothes in front of her and sending sexually explicit text messages to hair, according to the complaint in the case, obtained by CNN.

The lawsuit claims these incidents 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.

The statement adds: “We applaud our client’s courage in moving forward with her complaint against Garth Brooks. The complaint filed today shows that sexual predators exist not only in corporate America, Hollywood, and the rap and rock ‘n’ roll industries, but also in the world of country music.”

The lawsuit against Garth Brooks has been made public. LASC/MEGA

Brooks previously denied his accuser’s allegations and tried to stop Roe from publicly repeating her accusations, according to an earlier complaint he filed as “John Doe,” according to CNN.

He alleged that Roe’s legal representation sent him a “confidential” demand letter alleging sexual misconduct after he denied her request for “gainful employment and medical benefits,” the outlet reported. But Roe’s attorneys argue that the preemptive complaint was a desperate act to intimidate and silence his accuser.

A lawsuit has been filed against county star Garth Brooks. LASC/MEGA

According to CNN, Brooks said in a statement released by his publicist that he filed the anonymous complaint nearly a month ago for the sake of the families on both sides and to speak out against extortion and defamation of character.

“Over the past two months, I have been harassed endlessly with threats, lies and tragic stories about what my future would be if I did not write a multi-million dollar check. It was like waving a loaded gun in my face,” the star explained.

“Hush money, no matter how much or how little it is, is still hush money. In my eyes, this means admitting to behavior that I am not capable of: ugly acts that no human being should ever do to another.”

Garth Brooks performs onstage during Homeward Bound: A GRAMMY Salute to the Songs of Paul Simon at the Hollywood Pantages Theater on April 6, 2022 in Hollywood. Getty Images for The Recording Academy

Brooks noted that he wants to focus on his career and continue playing music and doing “good deeds,” but his heart is “breaking” because his integrity is being questioned.

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