Garth Brooks denies the rape and battery charges in the case

Shortly after the lawsuit was filed, Brooks vehemently denied the allegations and said the woman, who lives in Mississippi, told him she would go public with her allegations if he didn't pay her millions. Last month, Brooks filed a lawsuit against the woman (withholding their identity) in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi for extortion and defamation.

“For the past two months, I have had no end of threats, lies and sad stories about what my future will be if I don't write a multi-million dollar check. It's been like shoving a loaded gun in my face,” Brooks said in a statement through his publicist. “Hush money, no matter how much or how little, is still hush money. In my mind, that means I'm condoning behavior I'm incapable of doing. — ugly things that no man should ever do to another.”

“We filed a case against this person about a month ago for speaking out against extortion and defamation of character. We filed this anonymously in the interests of both families,” Brooks continued, referring to his scheduled concert at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas on Thursday. “I want to play music tonight. I want to continue our good work forward. It breaks my heart that this wonderful thing is being questioned now. I believe in the system, I'm not afraid of the truth and I'm not the person they portray me to be.” .”

Brooks, 62, is certified as the best-selling solo artist in history, revered in the country music community and credited as a key figure in turning the genre into a global phenomenon in the 1990s. The lawsuit, filed by Jane Rowe, details Brooks' long history of success and charity work, and alleges that Brooks is “desperate to prevent his millions of fans from learning about the horrible things he said and did to a junior female employee who did nothing.” treatment.”

In the lawsuit, Roe says she began working as a makeup artist and hairstylist for Brooks' wife, country star Trisha Yearwood, in 1999, among other celebrities. (Brooks and Yearwood have been married since 2005.) Roe said he worked with Brooks starting in 2017, and when Brooks learned in 2019 that he was having financial problems, he hired her to work more often; He says he is grateful for the extra income.

Shortly thereafter, Roe alleged, she came to Brooks' house to style her hair and do her makeup. She said the singer got out of the shower naked, put Rowe's hand on her genitals and said she fantasized about performing oral sex on him. The lawsuit alleges that Roe was “shocked and confused,” but did not leave because she needed work, and that Brooks continued to “take advantage of her financial hardship.”

The complaint states that in May 2019, Roe accompanied Brooks alone on a private jet to a Grammys tribute event in Los Angeles; When they arrived, she said, she realized Brooks had booked them into a hotel suite. Roe said Brooks appeared naked at the bedroom door and the lawsuit alleges he pulled her onto the bed and raped her. Later, the complaint said, Roe became traumatized and sought treatment from her OB/GYN, as well as for neck and lower back pain, and had suicidal thoughts.

Roe said he needed the money to support his family, so he didn't tell Brooks or the people he worked with, the lawsuit said, and continued working for him until May 2021, when he moved to Mississippi. At that point, Roe alleges, Brooks undressed her in front of her and grabbed her breasts; She said he repeatedly made sexual comments even when she said it made her uncomfortable and alleged that he once made the comments in front of her manager and Yearwood. The lawsuit states that Brooks sent her sexually explicit text messages and alleges that Brooks later took Rowe's phone and deleted most of them.

In Brooks' lawsuit against Roe, she alleges that Roe worked with her as an independent contractor for 15 years until May 2020, when she moved from Tennessee to Mississippi, where she sought Brooks' help when she ran into financial difficulties. Brooks said he was “obeyed by loyalty, friendship and a desire to improve [Roe’s] conditions,” but he also demanded, including salaried positions and medical benefits.

The country star said he disagreed with those terms, and Roe responded with “false and outrageous” allegations of sexual misconduct years ago, the lawsuit said. This past July, the complaint states, Roe sent her a letter accusing her of sexual harassment, misconduct, grooming and creating a sexually hostile work environment, and said she believed Brooks “planned to hire someone to kill her.”

Brooks' lawsuit states that Rowe's attorney followed up in August and offered not to sue her if she paid him a multimillion-dollar settlement. The complaint states that Roe's allegations are “not true,” but that Roe was aware of the damage they could do to Brooks' “well-earned reputation as a decent and caring person, the inevitable loss to his family, and the irreparable damage to his career and livelihood.”

Brooks is now suing him for extortion, defamation, false light invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Both Brooks and Roe are asking for a trial by jury.