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Hair and makeup artist accuses Garth Brooks of assault and battery in a lawsuit
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Hair and makeup artist accuses Garth Brooks of assault and battery in a lawsuit

A new lawsuit filed in California state court alleges that country star Garth Brooks sexually abused and assaulted a hair and makeup artist who worked for him.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday by a “Jane Roe,” alleges that the incidents occurred over several years while Roe was working for Brooks, who has denied the allegations.

In the 27-page lawsuit, Roe makes several accusations against the country singer. She claims that in 2019, Brooks forced her to touch his erect penis while she was at his home to style his hair. That same year, Roe alleges, Brooks brought her to Los Angeles to style for an event and then raped her in a hotel room.

Roe’s lawsuit also accuses Brooks of repeatedly exposing his genitals and buttocks to her, talking about sex, sharing sexual fantasies and sending sexually explicit text messages.

The lawsuit goes on to say that Brooks tried to cover up his alleged harassment of Roe, even going so far as to secretly take her phone and delete explicit text messages he had sent her.

Brooks did not respond to TODAY.com’s request for comment.

The lawsuit notes that Roe first worked for Brooks’ wife, Trisha Yearwood, beginning in 1999 and did not begin working for Brooks until 2017. Roe moved to Mississippi in 2021, the lawsuit said.

In a statement, Roe’s legal team — Douglas H. Wigdor, Jeanne M. Christensen and Hayley Baker — said Brooks tried to silence Roe with a preemptive complaint filed in Mississippi.

The September 13 Mississippi complaint was filed by a “John Doe,” a “celebrity and public figure living in Tennessee.”

In the filing, Doe alleged that Roe is lying to extort him for money and damage his reputation. The Mississippi complaint also alleged that Roe threatened to file her complaint in California only because Doe refused to give her a raise and pay for her health insurance.

“(Roe’s) false accusations and her threats to wrongly assassinate (Brooks’) character by publicly making such abhorrent and untrue accusations have caused (Brooks) emotional distress, including fear and anxiety for himself and his family,” it reads the complaint in Mississippi. “(Roe’s) attempted extortion from (Brooks) for millions of dollars through such untrue, lewd accusations constitutes intentional, outrageous conduct that intended and in fact caused (Brooks) serious mental injury, amounting to intentional infliction of emotional distress . ”

In a statement Thursday, Brooks’ team confirmed he was the Doe in the Mississippi indictment and said he had been “harassed to no end” prior to Roe’s filing.

“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,” Brooks said. “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. “

The statement continues: “We filed suit against this individual nearly a month ago to speak out against extortion and defamation of character. We submitted it anonymously, in the interest of the families on both sides.”

‘I want to make music tonight. I want to continue our good deeds in the future. It breaks my heart that these wonderful things are now up for debate,” Brooks said in the statement. “I trust the system, I am not afraid of the truth, and I am not the man they have portrayed me to be.”

Brooks’ complaint seeks damages, “a declaratory judgment that Defendant’s allegations of sexual misconduct are untrue,” an injunction to restrain Roe from filing her charges, and a jury trial.

Roe’s lawsuit seeks damages and a jury trial.

“We applaud our client’s courage in moving forward with her complaint against Garth Brooks,” Roe’s legal team wrote in a statement. “Today’s complaint 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.

“We are confident that Brooks will be held accountable for his actions and his attempts to silence our client by filing a preemptive complaint in Mississippi were nothing more than an act of desperation and attempted intimidation,” the lawsuit concluded. declaration. “We encourage others who may have been victimized to contact us as no survivor should suffer in silence.”