Garth Brooks claimed he was “hassled” for “millions of dollars” before he was sued by an alleged ex-employee for sexual assault and rape.
“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,” the country music icon, 62, said in a statement to Page Six Thursday.
“It has been like having a loaded gun waved in my face,” he 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 also confirmed he filed a suit against the woman accusing him of rape “nearly a month ago to speak out against extortion and defamation of character.”
He said he did so anonymously “for the sake of families on both sides.”
“I want to play music tonight. I want to continue our good deeds going forward,” he went on.
“It breaks my heart these wonderful things are in question now. I trust the system, I do not fear the truth, and I am not the man they have painted me to be.”
In a complaint obtained by CNN Thursday, the “Friends in Low Places” singer was accused of sexual assault and battery by a woman — identified as “Jane Roe” — who claimed to be his former hairstylist and makeup artist.
She alleged Brooks raped her in 2019 while she was employed by him. Furthermore, she claimed he repeatedly exposed his genitals to her, would often change his clothing in front of her, continuously spoke about intercourse and his sexual fantasies with her and sent her sexually explicit text messages.
Roe further alleged that Brooks made “repeated remarks” about “having a threesome” with his wife, Trisha Yearwood, whom he wed in 2005.
As Brooks noted in his statement to Page Six, he submitted a court filing in an attempt to block the “fabricated allegations” from coming to light.
In the Sept. 13 filing, which was obtained by Page Six Thursday, he asked a court to put an end to Roe’s “ongoing attempted extortion, defamation, false light invasion of privacy, and intentional infliction of emotional distress through outrageous conduct including the publication and threatened wider publication of false allegations of sexual misconduct that would irreparably harm Plaintiff’s reputation, family, career and livelihood.”
Prior to the country singer’s statement on the lawsuit, Roe’s lawyers, Douglas H. Wigdor, Jeanne M. Christensen and Hayley Baker, said told CNN that they are “confident that Brooks will be held accountable for his actions.”
“We applaud our client’s courage in moving forward with her complaint against Garth Brooks,” they added.
“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.”
Page Six reached out to the attorneys for further comment in response to Brooks’ public denial of the allegations.
Yearwood, 60, has not spoken publicly about the lawsuit. Her rep did not immediately respond to Page Six’s request for comment.
She and Brooks, who has been married for nearly 20 years, have not been shy about showing off their love.
Just last year, Brooks told Us Weekly of their date nights, “It’s just being together. That’s it.”
“Just being in the same room with a woman breathing the same air. We don’t have to be doing anything together, but just knowing she’s there [is nice],” he added.
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call the Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-330-0226.
