Garth Brooks has been married to Trisha Yearwood almost 19 years. This is Garth’s second marriage, and he’s father to three daughters with his first wife. Garth has been quieter in recent years, although he did perform at President Biden’s inauguration in 2021. Well, Garth is now facing accusations of rape and battery by his former hairstylist and makeup artist. Garth has already released a statement, which is folded into CNN’s reporting:

Country music star Garth Brooks has been accused of sexual assault and battery in a lawsuit from a “Jane Roe” who says she worked as a hairstylist and makeup artist for the award-winning singer. The complaint, filed in a state court in California on Thursday and obtained by CNN, states the alleged incidents occurred in 2019. She claims she was once raped by Brooks during a work trip.

In a statement to CNN later on Thursday, Brooks said, “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. 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,” he added. “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.”

Prior to Roe’s filing and as first reported by CNN, an anonymous celebrity plaintiff – now disclosed to be Brooks – had tried to block Roe from publicly repeating her allegations and fiercely denied the claims, according to a previous complaint he had filed as a “John Doe.”

Roe began handling hair and makeup services for Brooks in 2017, according to her suit, which states that she was first hired to do hair and makeup for his wife, Trisha Yearwood, in 1999. In addition to sexual assault and battery, the suit accuses Brooks of repeatedly exposing his genitals and buttocks; talking about sex and sharing sexual fantasies with Roe; regularly changing his clothing in front of Roe; and sending sexually explicit text messages.

In her filing, Roe claims that during one alleged incident in 2019, when she was at Brooks’ home for work, he walked out of the shower naked, “grabbed her hands and forced them” onto his genitals, while speaking to her with sexually explicit and vulgar language.

In another alleged incident in May 2019, the suit alleges that Brooks raped Roe in a hotel room during a work trip to Los Angeles where Brooks was taping a Grammy tribute performance.

[From CNN]

I truly hope that Garth is being falsely accused, but I don’t know. I really don’t. Believe women, and let’s hear the accusations in full and hopefully the lawyers and the court will figure out what’s really going on. Like… my gut says that Garth is absolutely capable of cheating and even saying inappropriate sh-t, which would constitute harassment. But rape and assault? I don’t know.

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