Garth Brooks accused of rape by former makeup artist



A former makeup artist for Garth Brooks has accused the country music star of sexual assault and battery in a lawsuit.

The complaint — filed Thursday in a California state court — claims the alleged incidents of sexual abuse occurred in 2019. The makeup artist and hairstylist accused Brooks of raping her during a work trip in Los Angeles, according to CNN.

'We are very confident in our case, and over time the public will see his true character rather than his highly curated persona.'

The alleged victim — identified only as "Jane Roe" in the lawsuit — claimed that the sexual abuse left her "physically" and "emotionally injured."

The lawsuit claims the woman and Brooks traveled to Los Angeles in 2019 for a Grammys tribute to R&B singer Sam Moore. The suit alleges that only one hotel room was booked for both of them to share.

Trapped in the room

"After they arrived, suddenly Brooks appeared in the doorway to the bedroom, completely naked," the complaint read, according to Fox News. "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 claims that Brooks then raped her.

In the suit, the woman also accuses Brooks of repeatedly exposing his genitals and buttocks, talking about sex and sharing sexual fantasies with her, regularly changing his clothing in front of her, and sending sexually explicit text messages.

Longtime employee

The alleged victim began handling hair and makeup services for Brooks in 2017, according to the lawsuit. The woman said she was first hired in 1999 to do hair and makeup for Brooks' wife, Trisha Yearwood.

The woman's legal team said in a statement that they "applaud our client's courage in moving forward with her complaints against Garth Brooks."

"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 statement read. "We encourage others who may have been victimized to contact us, as no survivor should suffer in silence."

'Hassled to no end'

Brooks vehemently denied the scathing allegations.

"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 in a statement. "It has been like having a loaded gun waved in my face."

The award-winning country music singer continued, "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."

Brooks revealed that his legal team filed a lawsuit against his accuser "nearly a month ago to speak out against extortion and defamation of character."

The "Friends in Low Places" singer said his suit was filed anonymously "for the sake of families on both sides."

Brooks contended that he would "trust the system."

"I do not fear the truth, and I am not the man they have painted me to be," Brooks concluded.

Back to work

Hours after the searing accusations were revealed, Brooks performed in Las Vegas.

After he performed at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace — where the 62-year-old country music singer has had a residency since May 2023 — Brooks penned an emotional message on social media.

On Instagram Brooks shared a photo of himself onstage in front of a sold-out crowd during his show with the caption: “If there was ever a night that I really needed this, TONIGHT was that night! Thank you for my life!!!!! Love, g.”

Douglas H. Wigdor — an attorney representing the woman in question — on Friday told CNN, “I cannot get into settlement discussions, but the suggestion made by Brooks that he was unwilling to pay millions is simply not true. We are very confident in our case, and over time the public will see his true character rather than his highly curated persona.”

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Following N-word controversy, Morgan Wallen breaks 64-year Billboard chart record, surpasses Garth Brooks, the Eagles, and more



Country star Morgan Wallen has shattered a 64-year music chart record as his album, "Dangerous: The Double Album," spent its eighth straight week in Billboard 200's No. 1 slot.

In February, Wallen came under fire after a video emerged depicting him using the N-word during a rowdy night out, and even though his record company and many radio stations in the U.S. dropped him, the country performer's star continued to rise.

What are the details?

In late February, Country Now reported that Wallen's "Dangerous" album has become the only country album to spend its first seven weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in the 64-year history of the chart.

According to a recent Billboard report, the album continues to dominate the Billboard 200 chart.

"Dangerous is now one of only six country albums that have spent at least eight weeks in total at No. 1," the outlet reported over the last week.

The outlet added, "Dangerous now ties Taylor Swift's 2020 album Folklore for the second-most weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in the last five years — among albums of all genres."

What could be more impressive, however, is the rest of the company in which Wallen's album is keeping atop the charts.

"Dangerous is also the only country set to spend its first eight weeks on the chart at No. 1," the industry leader added.

Country albums with the most weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 include Garth Brooks' 1991 album "Ropin' the Wind"; Billy Ray Cyrus' 1992 album "Some Gave All"; Taylor Swift's 2008 album "Fearless"; Garth Brooks' 1994 album "The Hits"; and the Eagles' 1977 album "Hotel California."

From Rolling Stone:

The chart dominance of Morgan Wallen continued this week as Dangerous: The Double Album coasted to Number One on the Rolling Stone Top 200 Albums chart. Wallen's set has now been in the top spot for two consecutive months. The backlash over a video of the singer using a racial slur has done little to shake his hold on Number One. Wallen sold more than 7,000 albums and earned nearly 90 million streams.

What else?

Wallen issued an apology for his remarks after the incident, saying that the video did not capture his finest moment.

"The video you saw was me on hour 72 of a 72-hour bender, and that's not something I'm proud of either," Wallen said at the time. "Obviously, the natural thing to do is to apologize further and continue to apologize, because you got caught, and that's not what I wanted to do. ... I let so many people down who mean a lot to me, who have given so much to me. It's just not fair. I let my parents down, and they're the furthest thing from the person in that video. I let my son down, and I'm not OK with that."

Garth Brooks to perform at Biden-Harris inauguration in show of 'unity'



Country music icon Garth Brooks has accepted an invitation to perform at the swearing-in ceremony for President-elect Joe Biden and Vice president-elect Kamala Harris, in what he calls a show of "unity" in the midst of the nation's deep political divisions.

The singer says he "might be the only Republican at this place."

What are the details?

"This is not a political statement, this is a statement of unity," Brooks declared from the start during a media interview announcing that he would join the inauguration performance lineup that also includes Lady Gaga and Jennifer Lopez.

Brooks said incoming first lady Jill Biden called to request that he sing at the ceremony, and he accepted.

When asked for his reaction to the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by a mob of Trump supporters, Brooks replied:

"It was disturbing. It was sad. Try to remember that we are the human race, so I'm always going to find sunny sides in there. …The fact that we do make choices very much on the spur of the moment. I deal in music. I deal in raw emotion. That is what music is all about, and all that passion, guided, misguided as it is, I think that you saw the human race at a time that, for me as a person, seemed to reflect some other country's deadline, if that makes any sense. But it's here, and all I can do is beg and plead for everybody to take that second, that moment, take a breath and think about it. Think about your family. Think about what the mark you're going to leave on this planet as a human being, and with the children that you raise, and then make your decision.

"So I think what happened was we saw people in the heat of the moment, and we've seen it on television before, but I'm with you. I felt like it was in some other country, but it was here. And now we deal with it, take responsibility, we claim it, and now we do our best to make sure something like that doesn't happen again."

He told the media of his upcoming performance, "I might be the only Republican at this place, but it's about reaching across and loving one another."

Joe Biden's team announces Garth Brooks will perform at the inaugurationwww.youtube.com

The Hill reported:

This will be Brooks's second time playing an inaugural ceremony after playing at former President Obama's inauguration in 2009. Brooks was also invited to perform at President Trump's inauguration in 2017 but declined due to a scheduling conflict with his ongoing tour at the time.

Biden and Harris are set to be sworn in at noon EST Wednesday on the west front of the Capitol, in a ceremony with about 1,000 attendees, including Congress. According to The New York Times, the inauguration will be followed by a virtual "parade" that begins at 3:15 p.m.