Country music icon Garth Brooks has been accused of sexual assault and battery. A woman who claims to have worked as a hair and makeup stylist for Garth Brooks alleges he raped her at a Los Angeles hotel in 2019, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court. In the filing, the woman, identified as Jane Roe, says Brooks sexually assaulted her in a hotel suite during a trip to L.A. for a Grammy Awards tribute to soul singer Sam Moore.
The woman had worked for Brooks’ wife, Trisha Yearwood, since 1999 and began working for Brooks in 2017. In the lawsuit, she alleges that the incident occurred while she and Brooks were traveling from Nashville to Los Angeles. Although Brooks usually travels with an attendant, the two were alone on his private jet and he booked the same hotel suite for both of them.
The lawsuit claims that once Brooks appeared naked in the bedroom doorway in the suite and raped her. After that, he allegedly acted as if nothing had happened and expected her to continue with her professional duties, doing her hair and makeup. The woman also claims that earlier that year, Brooks exposed himself to her at her home and forced her to touch him inappropriately.
Brooks vehemently denies the allegations and, in a separate lawsuit filed anonymously in Mississippi last month, claims the allegations are completely false. He said he became aware of the woman’s claims in July when he threatened to sue her if she didn’t pay him millions of dollars,” calling the demands “hush money” and adding, “I will not accept actions that I am unable to take, which any “Let no man do unto another.” Brooks’ lawsuit accuses the woman of defamation, infliction of emotional distress and invasion of privacy.
In his earlier lawsuit, filed as John Doe, Brooks claimed Roe’s attorney sent him a letter alleging sexual misconduct after Brooks denied her request for a salaried position and medical benefits. Brooks says the allegations are false and is concerned about the damage the claims could do to his reputation and career.
The woman’s lawsuit also accuses Brooks of repeatedly exposing himself to her, sending her explicit messages and talking about his sexual ideas. She alleged that financial difficulties forced her to work for him, which Brooks was aware of and took advantage of.
There is no word yet on whether the woman reported the allegations to police, and representatives for Trisha Yearwood have not commented on the matter. Brooks, 62, is one of country music’s most successful stars, known for hits like “Friends in Low Places” and “The Thunder Rolls.” He married Yearwood in 2005.