US country music star Garth Brooks stands accused of raping a makeup artist in her hotel room in a lawsuit filed in California on Thursday, in the latest claim of sexual wrongdoing to rock the entertainment world.
The woman, identified in the filing as Jane Roe, says the singer also repeatedly subjected her to unwanted sexual advances, including exposing himself and groping her when they were working together in 2019.
The lawsuit is the latest to be levelled against a high-profile man in the entertainment industry after a slew of claims rocked television and film over the last decade, in a reckoning that came to be known as the #MeToo movement.
It also comes days after more than 100 people filed suit against rapper and music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, alleging he subjected them to sexual abuse, on top of the federal racketeering and sex trafficking charges he is already facing.
“The complaint filed today demonstrates that sexual predators exist not only in corporate America, Hollywood and in the rap and rock and roll industries, but also in the world of country music,” the accuser’s attorneys Douglas Wigdor, Jeanne Christensen and Hayley Baker said in a statement sent to AFP.
“We are confident that Brooks will be held accountable for his actions.”
The suit, filed in Los Angeles, says Brooks filed a preemptive lawsuit in September in Mississippi.
In that action, which he filed under an alias, he sought an injunction blocking “extortionate conduct” and alleging the woman was seeking a multimillion dollar payout.
“(Brooks’) efforts to silence our client through the filing of a preemptive complaint in Mississippi was nothing other than an act of desperation and attempted intimidation,” the California suit says.
– ‘Worst fears’ –
Jane Roe’s suit says she worked initially for Brooks’ wife, country singer Trisha Yearwood, doing her hair and makeup in 1999.
She began to work for Brooks in 2017 and took on more work in 2019.
The papers claim the woman was at Brooks’ home when he walked into the room with an erection, which he forced her to touch as he spoke lasciviously to her.
They also say that in May 2019, the two travelled together to Las Vegas, where she was shocked to discover they were sharing a hotel suite with only one bedroom.
“Suddenly Brooks appeared in the doorway to the bedroom, completely naked. He stood there and flexed his muscles. Ms. Roe immediately had a sick feeling in her stomach, knowing she was trapped in the room alone with Brooks, with no one to help and far away from Nashville,” the lawsuit says.
“Tragically, her worst fears came true when seconds later he was towering over her, his 6-foot and almost 300-pound frame ready to pounce on Ms. Roe, who is less than 5 feet and 100 pounds.
“As she began to panic, he grabbed her hands and pulled her into the next room and onto the bed where she could not escape his physical domination.”
The suit, which demands unspecified damages, says Roe was so traumatized by the attack that she later considered suicide.
Brooks, 62, surged to national fame in the 1990s, with hits such as “Friends in Low Places” and “The Dance.”
In 2015, he topped Elvis Presley for the highest number of albums sold by a male artist.
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