Garth Brooks names his rape accuser, says she’s blackmailing him for millions – National
In a new court filing, the country singer Garth Brooks publicly named a former employee who last week sued the musician for rape in a civil suit.
Brooks, 62, told the U.S. District Court in Mississippi on Tuesday that the woman’s allegations were part of an “ongoing extortion attempt” intended to defame him and inflict emotional distress on him. He said he was a “victim of a shakedown”.
The woman, identified as “Jane Roe” in court documents prior to Tuesday, the singer said. I raped her in a hotel room in Los Angeles in 2019. The woman’s lawyers told the Los Angeles Times that Brooks revealed her identity “with no legal justification because he thinks the laws don’t apply to him.
“Garth Brooks has just revealed his true self,” said attorneys Douglas H. Wigdor, Jeanne M. Christensen and Hayley Baker.
Jane Roe told the court she was employed as a makeup artist and hairstylist for Brooks and his wife, Trisha Yearwood, from 1999 to 2021.
During her two years of employment, the woman claims Brooks repeatedly exposed his genitals to her, groped her body and sent her sexually explicit text messages. Roe said she continued to work for Brooks because of personal financial difficulties, of which he was aware.
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Global News generally does not name sexual assault accusers unless they first come forward.
Before the woman’s civil lawsuit against Brooks, filed in a California superior court, the Friends in low places The singer sued her for alleged extortion. The lawsuit was filed anonymously in Mississippi and called Brooks “John Doe,” as well as “a celebrity and public figure residing in Tennessee.”
Brooks told the court he was falsely accused of sexual assault by Jane Roe, who threatened legal action unless he provided him with “a multi-million dollar payment”.
He asked that the trial remain anonymous to avoid tarnishing his “well-deserved good reputation”.
The woman’s lawyers responded to Brooks’ filing and told the court they would file suit in California.
“MS. Roe respectfully requests that she may bring her action in California as she intended to do, and use Mr. Doe’s name, absent objection from this honorable Court,” the response states. legal.
The California lawsuit names Brooks, but not Jane Roe.
The woman’s lawyers said they would “seek maximum sanctions” against Brooks for disclosing her name.
Brooks sought compensatory and punitive damages, as well as a court injunction to prevent his accuser from “further publicizing her false allegations.” He requested a jury trial.
The singer’s lawyers substantiated the woman’s name in the amended complaint. They said his own legal representation “ripped the decision” to appoint Brooks from the court when they informed CNN of the trialdespite Brooks’ motion to continue under pseudonyms still pending.
In a statement last week, amid widespread media coverage of the allegations against Brooks, he released a statement saying he didn’t want to give anyone “hush money.”
“Hid money, no matter how small or small, is still hush money. In my mind, this means I am admitting to behavior that I am incapable of – horrible acts that no human should ever do to another,” he wrote. “I trust the system, I’m not afraid of the truth and I’m not the man they portrayed me to be.”
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If you or someone you know is experiencing violence or is involved in a violent situation, please visit Canadian Resource Center for Victims of Crime for help. They can also be reached toll-free at 1-877-232-2610.
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