S Poddar
Country music singer Garth Brooks has been named in a lawsuit filed in California that accuses him of rape, sexual assault, and battery. The plaintiff is suing under the pseudonym “Jane Roe,” alleging the Grammy-winning singer assaulted her when she worked as a hairstylist and makeup artist. The complaint says the alleged incidents transpired over several years between 2017 through 2020.
The complaint alleges that Brooks repeatedly groped her and made inappropriate, sexually explicit comments while she was working there. In other specifics of the lawsuit, on May 2019, Brooks is said to have asked her to travel with him to Los Angeles for a Grammy tribute. When they arrived in Los Angeles, Brooks booked only one suite that was a single-bedroom affair with Brooks. It is here that Brooks would appear naked at the doorway of the bedroom and then rape her, according to the accuser.
Brooks allegedly continued his unwanted sexual advances on Jane Roe after the reported attack. She also claims he repeatedly made her touch his genitals and engage in “graphic” sexual fantasies with him. She also claims Brooks suggested that he and his wife, country singer Trisha Yearwood, should have a threesome. The BBC has contacted Yearwood for comment but did not receive a reply.
Brooks denied the allegations vigorously, referring to the lawsuit as an act of “extortion and defamation,” according to a statement given to the BBC. He said that the accusations were a series of continuous threats and lies that were made as an attempt to extort from him a significant amount of money.
“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 didn’t write a check for many millions of dollars, Brooks said in his 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 said, “I trust the system, I do not fear the truth, and I am not the man they have painted me to be.” In this statement, he raised concerns regarding the damage posed by the allegations to his public image, good deeds, and career.
This litigation began three weeks ago as an anonymous lawsuit filed in a Mississippi federal court by a man described as “a celebrity and public figure who resides in Tennessee,” who has now been identified as Brooks himself. His response denied all of the allegations against his claim as “revulsive and untrue,” which suggests that this was an endeavor to cause irreparable harm to his reputation, family, and career.
Brooks’s defense attorney further argues that only after Brooks refused her request to come on board salaried and with medical benefits did Jane Roe’s accusations arise. In the end, Jane Roe responding wrote the lawsuit. Brooks retorted by filing a preemptive legal action that rejected her allegations, claiming that the claims were completely fabricated to extort money from him.
On Thursday, the lawyers for Jane Roe took their case to a new level by filing a 27-page complaint in Los Angeles Superior Court. The lawsuit alleges not only sexual assault and battery but claims that Brooks exposed himself multiple times, made lewd remarks, and even sent sexually explicit text messages.
In the case of Jane Roe, Brooks becomes a more substantial entity than any country musician and indeed any player within the entertainment business. As a two-time Grammy Award winner, over 162 million albums have been sold and he is estimated to have a net worth of about $400 million. His long list of accomplishments is not only built upon his amazing musical career but also on his charity work aiding various causes, particularly those close to his heart-including children’s welfare organizations and disaster relief agencies.
During the court battle, Brooks made a perfect defense, while Roe does not let up on her accusatory stance against Brooks even with serious questions continuing to hover over his behavior.
