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Garth Brooks' former makeup artist accuses him of sexual assault


Garth Brooks' former makeup artist accuses him of sexual assault

A makeup artist accused country music megastar Garth Brooks of sexually assaulting her in a lawsuit filed by her lawyers Thursday.

The woman, identified in the lawsuit by the pseudonym Jane Roe, says Brooks raped her in a hotel room and subjected her to unwanted sexual advances, which she says left her so traumatized that she contemplated suicide.

In another lawsuit that Brooks filed in September, according to the woman's lawyers, the singer claims the woman tried to extort money from him by threatening to file a lawsuit with what she said were trumped-up allegations of sexual misconduct.

The woman is represented by Douglas Wigdor, a prominent lawyer who represented eight clients in sexual assault lawsuits against disgraced former film producer Harvey Weinstein; Jeanne Christensen, partner at Wigdor's firm; and Nashville attorney Hayley Baker.

Representatives for Brooks did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“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 and roll industries, but also in the world of country music.” A statement from the lawyers reads in part .

According to the lawsuit, the woman had been doing Brooks' makeup and hairstyling since 2017. The woman claims the misconduct began in 2019. The lawsuit accuses Brooks of raping the woman in a hotel room during a trip to Los Angeles for a Grammy tribute to another artist. The woman also accuses Brooks of groping her, regularly exposing himself in front of her while he was changing, sending her inappropriate messages and talking to her about his sexual fantasies.

The lawsuit does not specify exactly when the woman stopped working for Brooks, but states that she moved to Mississippi in May 2021.

An anonymous plaintiff who was just a celebrity living in Tennessee sued an unnamed woman he said had previously worked for him in federal court in Mississippi on September 13, claiming the woman was planning to , to sue unless he pays her several million dollars. The lawsuit filed Thursday says Brooks was the person who sued the woman in Mississippi.

In the lawsuit filed in Mississippi, the plaintiff says allegations of sexual misconduct contained in a letter the woman's lawyers sent him in July, before the lawsuit was filed, were untrue.

“However, Defendant is aware of the significant, irreparable harm that such false allegations would cause to Plaintiff’s well-deserved reputation as a decent and caring human being, along with the inevitable harm to his family and the irreparable harm to his career and livelihood.” “This is what would happen if she followed through on her threat to publicly file her fabricated lawsuit,” the lawsuit against the woman says.

The accuser's lawyers view the Mississippi lawsuit as a preemptive attempt to silence their client.

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

A clerk at the California Superior Court for Los Angeles County said the lawsuit has not yet appeared in court records, but it often takes at least two days for a lawsuit to be accepted and a docket number assigned. The woman's lawyers said the lawsuit was filed Thursday.

The lawsuit alleges six claims against Brooks: assault, battery, sexual violence, gender-based violence, and violations of the Bane Act and the Ralph Act, two California state laws that protect people from violence or intimidation and threats of violence.

The Mississippi lawsuit accuses the woman of defamation, false invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Evan Mealins is The Tennessean's justice reporter. Contact him at [email protected] or follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @EvanMeALins.

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