Garth Brooks accused of sexual assault and battery by hair and makeup artist who worked for him in new lawsuit

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

In the lawsuit filed on October 3, 2024, “Jane Roe” alleges that the incidents took place over several years while Roe was working for Brooks, who denies the allegations.

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

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

The lawsuit alleges that Brooks tried to cover up her alleged harassment of Roe, secretly taking her phone and deleting explicit texts she sent.

The lawsuit notes that Rowe first worked for Brooks' wife, Trisha Yearwood, beginning in 1999 and only began working for Brooks in 2017. Roe moved to Mississippi in 2021, the lawsuit states.

In a statement, Roe's legal team — Douglas H. Wigdor, Jean M. Christensen, and Hailey Baker — said Brooks tried to “silence” Roe by filing a preemptive complaint in Mississippi.

On September 13, 2024, a complaint was filed in Mississippi by a “John Doe” who is a “celebrity and public figure who lives in Tennessee.” In the filing, Doe alleged that Roe was lying to extort him for money and ruin his reputation. The Mississippi complaint also alleges that Roe threatened to file a lawsuit against her in California because Doe refused to give her a raise and pay for health insurance.

In a statement to TODAY.com on Oct. 3, Brooks' team confirmed that he was the one charged in Mississippi.

“(Rowe's) false allegations and threats to wrongfully kill (Brooks's) character through the public dissemination of such malicious and untrue allegations have caused (Brooks) emotional distress, including anxiety and fear, to himself and his family,” the Mississippi complaint states. “(Roe's) attempt to extort millions of dollars from (Brooks) through such false, obscene allegations constitutes intentional, outrageous conduct that was intentional and actually caused (Brooks) serious emotional injury, which is an intentional infliction of emotional distress.”

In his statement to TODAY.com, Brooks said he had been “harassed at the very least” ahead of Roe's filing.

“For the past two months, I've had no end of threats, lies and sad stories about what my future would be if I didn't write a multi-million dollar check. In my face,” Brooks said. “Silent meaning, no matter how much or how little, is still silent meaning. In my mind, it means I'm condoning behavior I'm incapable of—ugly things no human being should ever do to another.”

The statement added, “We filed a case against this person about a month ago for speaking out against extortion and defamation of character. We filed the case anonymously in the interests of the families of both parties.”

“I want to play music tonight. I want to continue our good work going forward. It breaks my heart that these wonderful things are now in question,” Brooks' statement concluded. “I believe in the system, I'm not afraid of the truth, and I'm not the man they portray me to be.”

Brooks' complaint seeks damages, “a declaratory judgment that defendant's allegations of sexual misconduct against her are untrue,” an injunction restraining Roe from filing her lawsuit, and a jury trial.

Roe's lawsuit is seeking damages and a jury trial.

“We applaud our client's courage in moving forward with his allegations against Garth Brooks,” Roe's legal team wrote in a statement. “The complaint filed today demonstrates 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.”

“We are confident that Brooks will be held accountable for his actions and that his efforts to silence our client by filing a prejudicial complaint in Mississippi were nothing more than an attempt to frustrate and intimidate,” the statement concluded. “We encourage others who may have been victims to contact us because no survivor should suffer in silence.”

Hours after news of the lawsuit broke, Brooks shared a post on her Instagram page.

“If ever there was a night I really needed, tonight was the night!” he wrote in the caption.

Brooks performed in Las Vegas on October 3.

She ended her post by writing, “Thank you for my life!!!!!”

correction (Oct. 4, 2024, 8:39 am): A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the date the lawsuit was filed. It was filed on October 3, 2024, not October 3, 2023