Days before Garth Brooks was accused of sexual assault and battery, the country music star praised his wife, Trisha Yearwood.
“My favorite thing about getting to be Ms. Yearwood’s partner is the good times, but also going through the bad times together because that makes you one,” Brooks, 62, said in an interview with People published on Tuesday, October 1. “We have a love that’s going to last beyond this lifetime. I found her in the last life. I’ll find her in the next one.”
On Thursday, October 3, the news broke that a woman named Jane Roe had filed a lawsuit against the “Friends in Low Places” singer. In the paperwork, which was filed in a state court in California, Roe claimed that she worked for Brooks as a hair stylist and makeup artist, after she was initially hired by Yearwood, 60, in 1999. She alleged that Brooks raped her in a hotel room during a work trip in Los Angeles 2019 after the two had flown there on his private jet.
“Usually there were others on Brooks’ private jet but this time, Ms. Roe and Brooks were the only two passengers,” the filing read. “Once in Los Angeles at the hotel, Ms. Roe could not believe that Brooks had booked a hotel suite with one bedroom and she did not have a separate room.”
Roe also alleged that the “Rodeo” artist repeatedly exposed his genitals and buttocks, inappropriately discussed sexual fantasies with her, changed his clothes in front of her on a regular basis and sent sexually explicit texts. In another incident, Roe detailed a time when she was at Brooks and Yearwood’s home and the Grammy winner exited the shower while naked and “grabbed her hands and forced them” onto his genitals. She also claimed that he said vulgar phrases and sexually explicit phrases to her.
CNN reported that Brooks had previously tried to block Roe from repeating her allegations publicly and adamantly denied the claims. The “What She’s Doing Now” singer originally filed the complaint as “John Doe,” but it was later revealed to be Brooks.
Brooks denied Roe’s claims in a statement to CNN.
“For the last two months, I have been hassled to no end with threats, lies, and tragic tales of what my future would be if I did not write a check for many millions of dollars,” Brooks said. “Hush money, no matter how much or how little, is still hush money. In my mind, that means I am admitting to behavior I am incapable of — ugly acts no human should ever do to another. We filed suit against this person nearly a month ago to speak out against extortion and defamation of character. We filed it anonymously for the sake of families on both sides.”
Roe’s attorney, Douglas H. Wigdor, also gave a statement to the outlet on his client’s behalf.
“I cannot get into settlement discussions, but the suggestion made by Brooks that he was unwilling to pay millions is simply not true,” Wigdor told CNN. “We are very confident in our case and over time the public will see his true character rather than his highly curated persona.”
