Garth Brooks Says Rape Accuser Wanted to Blackmail Him for "Millions" Amid Allegations

Garth Brooks is fighting back against a woman's sexual assault allegations.

Days before his former hairstylist and makeup artist accused him of rape and other sex crimes in a California lawsuit using the alias Jane Roe, the country star preemptively filed a lawsuit in Mississippi to block her from suing. However, after he was identified as the plaintiff in the press, he filed an amended complaint that noted the woman's name.

"[Brooks] is the victim of a shakedown," the country wrote in legal documents filed Oct. 8 and obtained by E! News. "When Jane Roe threatened to publish lies about him—intending to blackmail [Brooks] into paying her millions of dollars—he filed this lawsuit to preserve his reputation, establish the truth, and put a stop to her scheme."

In his amended complaint, also filed Oct. 8 and obtained by E! News, Brooks alleged that two months before his accuser came forward with her suit, he was sent a demand letter from her lawyer containing allegations of "sexual 'grooming,' creation of a sexually hostile work environment, unwanted sexual touching, and sexual assault."

The woman "also alleged a belief that [Brooks] planned to hire someone to murder her," the filing says.

He added that in the July letter, the woman threatened to publicly file a civil complaint against him unless he agreed to pay her "millions of dollars."

The "Friends in Low Places" artist further indicated that the accusations were in retaliation after the woman, who he said worked for him for about 15 years as an independent contractor, asked him for salaried employment and medical benefits and he advised he could not agree to her demands.

He further noted that his decision to name her publicly in the amended complaint came after her lawyer identified Brooks while talking about the legal battle with a media outlet.

"She gave the Court fewer than 48 hours after filing her opposition," the documents state, "before publicly leaking [Brooks'] identity to the press."

The woman's legal team slammed his decision to name her.

“Garth Brooks just revealed his true self," they said in a statement to the Hollywood Reporter. "Out of spite and to punish, he publicly named a rape victim."

The statement continued, "With no legal justification, Brooks outed her because he thinks the laws don’t apply to him. On behalf of our client, we will be moving for maximum sanctions against him immediately."

In her lawsuit, the woman had accused Brooks of "openly talking about sexual subjects," purposefully exposing himself to her, repeating his "sexual fantasies" to her, sending her sexually explicit text messages and making remarks "about having a threesome with his wife," Trisha Yearwood.

"Roe" also alleges in her filing that Brooks raped her in a hotel room during a work trip in 2019 and that when her lawyers contacted him to disclose that she "was prepared to file a complaint in California to hold him accountable for his sexual assaults," he allegedly retaliated and "used the fact that Ms. Roe had dared to speak about the harm he forced on her as an opportunity to inflict even more harm and pain on Ms. Roe."

"Specifically, while pretending to be in discussions with Ms. Roe to resolve her legal claims against him, on September 13, 2024," the suit states, "Brooks filed a preemptive abusive Complaint against Ms. Roe under the Declaratory Judgment Act."

The accuser is asking for "monetary and/or compensatory damages" as well as "punitive damages/exemplary damages," as well as "further relief as the court may deem proper."

Brooks' amended lawsuit stated that he has suffered emotional distress and that the woman's "attempted extortion" of him "through such untrue, lewd allegations constitutes intentional, outrageous conduct" that was intended to and did in fact cause him "serious mental injury."

He is seeking a jury trial, compensatory and punitive damages, declaratory judgment that the woman's allegations against him of sexual misconduct are untrue, and injunctive relief prohibiting him from "continuing her attempted extortion, defamation, and false light invasion of privacy, and from making good on her threats to more widely publicize her false allegations."

For free, confidential help, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 or visit rainn.org.