A woman who claims she worked as a hair-and-makeup stylist for country music icon Garth Brooks has accused him of rape in a lawsuit filed Thursday in Los Angeles. The alleged incident took place in 2019 at a Los Angeles hotel.
The plaintiff, identified only as Jane Roe in court documents, filed the suit in Los Angeles Superior Court. Efforts to reach Brooks’ representatives, including his publicist and attorney, were unsuccessful at the time of publication.
According to the lawsuit, the woman had been employed by Brooks’ wife, country singer Trisha Yearwood, since 1999 and began working with Brooks directly in 2017. The alleged assault is said to have occurred in October 2019 when the stylist accompanied Brooks on a trip from Nashville to Los Angeles. Brooks was performing alongside soul singer Sam Moore during a Grammy Awards tribute to Moore.
The lawsuit alleges that during the trip, Brooks and the plaintiff flew alone on his private jet, and upon arrival, Brooks booked a single hotel suite for both of them. The woman claims that once in the hotel room, Brooks appeared naked at the bedroom door and raped her.
After the alleged assault, the lawsuit says Brooks continued as if nothing had happened and expected the woman to proceed with her professional duties, including styling his hair and makeup.
The plaintiff also claims that earlier in 2019, during a visit to Brooks’ home, he had exposed himself to her, forcibly placed her hands on his genitals, and continued to expose himself on multiple occasions. She further alleges that Brooks made sexually explicit comments, discussed sexual fantasies, and sent her inappropriate text messages.
According to the lawsuit, financial hardship forced the woman to continue working for Brooks, a vulnerability he allegedly exploited.
Last month, Brooks filed a preemptive lawsuit in federal court in Mississippi, in which both he and the woman remained anonymous. In court filings, Brooks, identified as John Doe, denied the allegations, calling them “wholly untrue.” He stated that he first became aware of the claims in July when the woman threatened to sue him publicly unless he paid her millions of dollars. Brooks’ lawsuit seeks to prevent the woman from causing “intentional infliction of emotional distress, defamation, and false light invasion of privacy.”
Questions about whether the woman had reported her accusations to the police went unanswered by her attorney.
Garth Brooks, 62, who rose to fame as the biggest star in country music during the 1990s with hits such as “Friends in Low Places” and “The Thunder Rolls,” is known for blending arena-rock theatrics with a pop sensibility, making him a household name beyond traditional country music audiences. He married fellow country star Trisha Yearwood in 2005.
Yearwood’s representatives have not yet responded to requests for comment regarding the lawsuit.
