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.
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.
Photos courtesy of Cover Images.
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- ‘Garth Brooks: The Road I’m On’ Biography Celebration at The Bowery Hotel Featuring: Garth Brooks Where: New York City, New York, United States When: 18 Nov 2019 Credit: Julie Shea/Cover Images
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- 58th Academy Of Country Music Awards at The Ford Center at The Star Featuring: Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood Where: Frisco, Texas, United States When: 11 May 2023 Credit: imageSPACE/Media Punch/INSTARimages
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- 58th Academy Of Country Music Awards at The Ford Center at The Star Featuring: Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood Where: Frisco, Texas, United States When: 11 May 2023 Credit: imageSPACE/Media Punch/INSTARimages
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- 58th Academy Of Country Music Awards at The Ford Center at The Star Featuring: Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood Where: Frisco, Texas, United States When: 11 May 2023 Credit: imageSPACE/Media Punch/INSTARimages
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- United States President Joe Biden and first lady Dr. Jill Biden welcome the recipients of the 45th Annual Kennedy Center Honors to a reception at the White House in Washington, DC on Sunday, December 4, 2022. Featuring: Garth Brooks Where: Washington, District of Columbia, United States When: 04 Dec 2022 Credit: Chris Kleponis/CNP/startraksphot/Cover Images
I really don’t like how Garth Brooks tried to anonymously get this lawsuit thrown out. It’s not reading not guilty to me.
That’s one way of looking at it I guess. But if he truly knows that he’s innocent and thinks the lawsuit is meritless, you could also see how he’d move to dismiss it simply to spare his family the embarrassment and negative publicity.
Then again, if he has a treasure trove of threats and blackmailing as he insinuates, couldn’t he have just gone to the police or even the FBI? He’s a rich, famous, high-profile musician–he has connections and resources that most of us don’t. IDK…I’m really torn but leaning more towards this being true.
The reporting on this is kind of weird and I’m having trouble understanding the procedural history, but it doesn’t say he tried to get it thrown out. It says she filed suit and then he filed as an “anonymous celebrity plaintiff” to try to prevent her from speaking publicly and to get the harassment to stop. The article says the victim filed suit yesterday but Brooks’ statement said they filed almost a month ago.
so it sounds like she/her team approached him about a settlement before ever filing suit and asked for millions and he refused, filed suit to get her to stop approaching him about it, and then she filed this suit alleging sexual assault.
So that’s not the same thing as “he tried anonymously to get this lawsuit thrown out.” He sued first.
Idk, something feels really off about this to me. Maybe it’s my worldview or living abroad too long?
Presumably he has a ton of receipts on the blackmail and can prove he’s never sexually harassed her? He’s filed his police reports? His lawyer went to her or her lawyer? I don’t understand why because he’s a celebrity he feels entitled to a different court experience than any other citizen? Why does he alternate between using “I” and “we?” If there’s not enough evidence, this case will be dismissed and no matter if she actually is telling the truth or not, he wins anyway. He’s a really popular, rich white guy—this seems like an extreme way to react and it feels like he’s genuinely trying to hide something to me.
The big question is why after the first incident would you stay in a job? I would be gone if it meant I had to file for public benefits or take something lower paying.
I am not saying in this case, he is 100% guilty. In general, there are many victims who stay in the job after abuse. They either fear retaliation, loss of income or too young or vulnerable to be manipulated. It is important to see not everyone acts like how we would act in the same situation. Women and men with abuse history are also more likely to get abused in the future and learn to normalize it in their mind. Years later, they come to terms with the abuse and in some cases report it.
People can’t just quit and live on benefits. It doesn’t matter what the awful reason is. Are you asking the NC plastics plant employees the same thing? When all the weather reports said ‘stay home’ why did ALL of them still go to work. When they were calling the boss and asking for permission? Why didn’t they just leave?
But people who are sexually harassed, get this nonsense when they speak out.
Being a make-up artist isn’t an inherently dangerous job. However, assault is a direct threat to one’s safety and no amount of excuses should put anything before self-preservation. Quit, file a report, press charges, do whatever you can but under no circumstances repeatedly go back. Yes, each situation is different but after decades of awareness around SA, until immediate actions are taken to stop this vile behavior it will continue.
@Aerie, from all the things we have read, working in entertainment industry is a dangerous job. We don’t know the alleged victim’s circumstances. If #metoo taught us one thing, it is not so easy for victims to go report their abuser and quit their job due to abuse. We heard thousand stories like that, come on now.
🙄 It’s the same old tired argument. People stay for many reasons. Some become desensitized to the hostility and abuse, accepting it as part of the workplace culture—until something or someone jolts them out of that mindset. Others stay due to personal circumstances, relying on income/benefits, lack of alternatives, gaining experience or promotions, or hoping things will change. It’s ironic that you post under a name like “Equality” but still make statements like that, showing a lack of understanding of these situations. You would think you’d know better.
There are no perfect victims, let’s not ignore the fact that some women depend on their jobs and that financial resources can be hard to come by.
Because sometimes folks can’t afford to leave and fear of being blacklisted.
Rapists are often master manipulators. They start small and gaslight early and often. They make their victims feel like they are being overly sensitive, that they misunderstood, that they can’t take some gentle affection and ribbing. And someone famous is going to have way more tools in the shed to turn things his way. He’ll pretend that in the music business, they are family and less formal. There is no end to the lies, manipulation and then outright threats when the lies stop working.
Josephine. You’ve given a very broad generalization of rape behavior but in this one case against Garth Brooks, the allegations from Jane Doe are different. He apparently made his intentions very clear and very early into their professional relationship. She doesn’t describe any threats or manipulation or subterfuge on his part. My point is that not telling anyone, even a friend, about what happened is why these situations are greeted with skepticism. It’s not the incident that’s questioned so much as to why the victim didn’t act on her own behalf. I’d rather tell and not be believed then not tell and continue to be abused. But that’s just me.
Aerie, we don’t know all of the details yet. But also keep in mind that men who abuse women are often very, very good at choosing their victims. They choose those who won’t feel confident reporting, who have been victimized before and are used to thinking that it is their fault, who think they deserve it, who feel familiarity in the abuse. I am not judging this individual case, but having worked (many years ago) with domestic violence and rape victims, I gently question the need to immediately doubt a victim’s story. I think most of us believe that we would kick butt and we would report and we are the lucky ones but also probably not the ones who will be targeted. It’s why so many women are dubious about sexual harassment in the work place. They don’t believe it because it did not happen to them, or have never witnessed it. It is tough to believe sometimes, I get that. But my default is to wait. For that same reason, I don’t assume guilt because Garth tried to hide his name in the legal complaint.
Josephine. Thanks for the thoughtful reply. Giving the profile of a rapist and also a victim is one reason why these cases generate knee-jerk opinions. Too often people want to fit the accused and the accuser into boxes that scream Abuser and Victim. Jane Doe is filing civil charges, not criminal. At some point criminal charges need to be charged or the debate will always be divided. Again, I have no evidence of her account but as one of only two who know what happened, she needs to live her truth and take this as fas as she can. Any attempt to offer reasons why she doesn’t invalidates her claim.
on top of all the other replies, in the US since we still stupidly tie employment to health care, it’s one more reason why people can’t always up and quit
That’s not true, Affordable Care Act is required off all citizens if not covered via employment or Medicaid
Employers have to have a certain number of full-time employees (25?) to be required to carry health insurance for their employees. A lot of employers are really careful to avoid that threshold to avoid having to provide health insurance. I doubt her health insurance was tied to her job in this instance.
You can’t just “quit your job and file for public benefits.” That’s not how it works in this country. You only get unemployment benefits if you lose your job through no fault of your own. That means you cannot quit and get benefits, or be fired and get benefits. There has to be a layoff or skillset incompatibility or your company went out of business. And even then, depending on what state you live in, the unemployment income can be very meager and time limited. In my state most people only get unemployment income for four months. So think about that, and if you had children to feed and house, car payment, mortgage or rent, would you really just quit your job.
lol I was so confused by this part of the comment. What public benefits? And to add to your list, some people have their immigration status tied to their work. Not saying that’s the situation here because of course I don’t know, but it’s another factor that can trap a person in an abusive job.
@Chaine Chiming in to say….no, that is very incorrect. I’m not slamming on you, it’s a common bit of misinformation.
Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits are paid to employees who become unemployed through no fault of their own. With regard to an employee quitting, that means if the employer commits a provable egregious offense or a decision that harms, even potentially, an employee or makes the employee’s ability to work substantially harder then the employee can quit their job and be qualified to receive UI.
Quitting a job due to provable harassment/assault is a VALID reason to quit a job. That person will receive UI benefits because they had *no choice* but to resign to protect their bodily wellbeing.
If an employee quits the burden of proving the circumstances is on the employee.
With regards to being fired, if an employee is fired/laid off/terminated….basically the employer is the one who initiated the separation… the employer must prove the employee did something wrong to justify the termination. If the employer doesn’t prove that then the employee will receive UI benefits.
Bottom line: if the evidence shows the employer f*cked up then the employee will get paid.
Disclaimer: UI claims examiners are humans and sometimes make mistakes. If you get a decision you disagree with please IMMEDIATELY file an appeal to have the case heard by a higher level of examination.
Source: Me, a 26 year veteran of working for a state UI agency.
Edit: if the woman in this story is an independent contractor then she does not qualify for UI benefits. UI is paid to people who work “in employment” which means for a company. Self employed folx don’t have the protection of UI which is why the CARES Act of 2020 was historically groundbreaking for UI. It allowed a one time exemption so that self employed people could receive UI.
This isn’t the big question. It’s a tired question, it’s victim blaming.
Even if the accuser is lying about all of it (doubtful), plenty of other victims don’t and still have no choice but to stay. When you haven’t lived it you can’t fully grasp that concept I guess, but I can’t believe in 2024 people are still asking this question.
Every time you say this other survivors and people still living in these situations see you. You are announcing that you are not safe. Remember that.
Holy hell, thank you Sass for saying this. Your comment is why this site needs a like button. Are we only questioning her because OMG, it’s Garth Brooks…?
@LTL I appreciate that and agree. Like button would be great!
I’m also going to continue this by adding statements such as the accuser has a responsibility to file criminal charges “or else” is also some BS. It doesn’t mean she’s lying if she doesn’t. In fact maybe the statute of limitations for that ran out and all she has left to pursue is civil. But even if not, it is NOT OUR PLACE to say that survivors and victims have a duty to do what WE think they should do.
My dad pulled a gun on me once. I filed charges. My family convinced me to drop them. I am now labeled as a liar and the difficult one because “see she did it all for attention.” No. I am a domestic abuse survivor and I was pressured into doing something yet again to keep the peace.
Y’all gonna learn today.
You would think that after the last decade or so of serial abusers and rapists that we would not be so quick to judge.
Of course, there are plenty of reasons why someone would continue to work in an industry that they are trained in and have had some success in, even if that meant working for someone who abused them. How many of us could suddenly quit our whole career like that, especially if she was a freelance MUA? And that’s not even mentioning the risk of being blacklisted for speaking out.
I will also say that as a woman, it is actually very easy to convince yourself that sexual harrassment, abuse, or assault is your fault – that you must have invited it, permitted it, or not spoken up loudly enough to prevent it. That maybe you are misremembering what happened, or maybe it wasn’t so bad. That it won’t happen again. Or that if you report what happened to you, people will ask things like “Well, why didn’t you just quit your job?”.
There is often all kinds of gaslighting and love bombing (or, on the flip side, threats to ruin a career) of different types that goes on in these power-imbalance situations, as well as complex financial/life situations.
Exactly.
I’ll admit, ever time a situation like this is revealed, that question pops into my mind – why didn’t you just leave?
And then I always remind myself that no one knows for sure how they’d react in a situation until they are truly in it, not everyone has the ability to quit a job or leave a partner, or run away elsewhere. People in power, abusers in power I should really say, know how to manipulate their victims, prey on people who can’t fight back, or target those who have a lot to lose if they try.
I try to always err on the side of believing victims, I hope justice is served here and the truth prevails.
If she was in his hotel room in May of 2019 there would be a paper trail showing where he was at that time. Also, either Garth or his wife would have kept calendars of appointments and dates. How about employee records, travel expenses, when she was at the house for professional purposes etc. He and his lawyers can easily refute this, if true. The digital age we live in is traceable. Hope there is some resolution.
That’s my thought too. Are there texts? Corroborating stories/witnesses?
Well, it doesn’t see like anyone is denying she worked for him.
As his employee, she will have been places with him, sometimes alone. If she is saying he raped her and he is saying he didn’t, proving they were at a hotel or at his house on a specific date isn’t much evidence for either case. Unless there were security cameras that prove or disprove specific behavior.
I’m European and I don’t know the guy. Why is it hard to believe he is guilty. This bloggers and commenters here are usually quick to stand by women and believe victims. Why is he special?
I also don’t know the guy. I am guessing, he probably has had a good public reputation so far. In those cases, it is harder for people to believe the accusations. Some people can turn into monsters behind closed doors though, so nothing would surprise me.
Same here, European and i have no idea who he is and im also curious to know, why people here hesitate to believe the victim immediately like they do with others
Garth Brooks is a country music legend; he is winding down and semi-retired. I don’t follow country music, but he is a beloved part of country music (based on my admittedly not super-informed understanding of the country music community). I think he has presented himself as a family man to his fans; I don’t know much more about him.
He’s been a huge country star for over 30 years and has, I think, a good guy reputation. So some people may be shocked to think he is capable of rape.
I tend to believe women, but obviously know nothing about this particular case and can’t be certain one way or the other. I am not a fan of country music so I don’t have any observations of even just his public persona. But these days, nothing would surprise me. I don’t say that to cast dispersions on him specifically. But stuff has come out about so many stars that I wish wasn’t true, that I think there are very few people that would truly shock me to hear bad things about these days.
He is a beloved country music superstar with an “aw shucks” nice guy reputation, so of course people are going to believe him and demonize any woman who suggests otherwise. It’s the American way
He is one of the biggest country music stars out there, and so is his wife. In all of his time in the spotlight, there has never been an accusation of impropriety against him, let alone something as disgusting as what he is being accused of.
There were never any complaints against Cosby too initially, until his house of depravity came tumbling down. I choose to believe the woman, until Garth’s innocent is proven in a court of law.
Why did he try to get it anonymously thrown out, something doesn’t smell quite right.
There were complaints against Cosby, including police complaints. He assaulted 60 women (that we know of), and behind the scenes, it was well-known what he was. Same with Weinstein. As far as I know, that isn’t the case with Brooks.
@Scarlett – there were always rumors about Cosby’s behavior and not just in Hollywood (there were whispers about it at Temple University in the early 90s)
I said this above, but per the CNN article, he did NOT try anonymously to get it thrown out. He filed a lawsuit FIRST to try to get the harassment and threats (according to him) to stop, because she was asking for millions to keep her mouth shut about this (again, according to him.) Then she filed suit yesterday.
Brooks has a good public reputation. While I can’t speak for his private reputation currently, he had a pretty good one many (MANY) years ago when I worked on the club/concert side of the entertainment industry. Having that experience makes it difficult to believe the accusation.
BUT, I’ve been around the block a lot since those days, and I’ve been bitterly disappointed in people (esp. men) many times over the years. I really hope the accusation is not true, I understand the immediate inclination to not believe it, but I’m also aware of what people are capable of, sadly.
Garth and his wife, Trisha Yearwood are very active in Habitat for Humanity, Former President Jimmy Carter’s lifelong work (post-presidency).
I believe the accusations—Garth is a powerful figure, not only in country music, but also being identified with such a world-recognized charity. There must be receipts to back up these claims—it would be insanity to make up such horrendous charges. (I also think the preemptive filing to block Jane Doe speaks volumes.)
“(I also think the preemptive filing to block Jane Doe speaks volumes.)”
I get why people are saying that. But I don’t totally agree. To be clear, my default is generally to believe women and the following is not me defending Brooks as much as an observation in general.
Rape is often hard to prove. And hence, also hard to disprove.
Sure, if a random woman that never met him falsely accuses a guy of rape, he MAY feel confident going to court, if he has never met her she will have a pretty hard time “proving” he raped her as she’ll have no evidence of even being in a room with him.
But in this case? She will be able to prove lots of times they may have been alone. Even IF she was lying, maybe he just didn’t want this info out there? Because even if she lied and lost the case, some people WILL believe her.
Again, I am not defending him. I’m not saying he didn’t do it. Just saying that him wanting to keep his name off this doesn’t make me think it’s more likely he did it.
For me? The fact that he is a huge star is far more damning as we just keep seeing more and more powerful men being outed for awful things.
The QuAnon Trumpster HATE Garth after he sang at President Biden’s inauguration and his continuing to sell Bud Light at his restaurants. They say the most disgusting, foulest shit about him and Trisha on IG. I know that it’s going to ramp up now.
Yeah, this is why I am getting a very bad feeling that this is part of a maga scheme. I think the whole Diddy debacle is about to expose some people who would really rather we were talking about Garth Brooks.
Do not turn this woman’s lawsuit into a conspiracy laden political ‘scheme’. You talk about believing all women then reduce her story to a plot device. Diddy? Unbelievable.
@Christine, @girl_ninja – You bring up an interesting angle I hadn’t considered before. If he’s such a target of Magat ire, it’s possible this unnamed accuser is getting right-wing financing. Since I’ve never been one of those people who say that women should always be believed, no matter what, I’ll just say that I’ve ‘heard’ her allegations. Looks like this legal case might go all the way, so I’ll just withhold any opinions on the truth of their positions until case resolution.
Both Garth and Trisha are very vocal supporters of the Democratic party and they have campaigned for Obama and Hillary Clinton. Trisha became a close friend of Rosalynn Carter (both Georgia girls) and she and Garth sang “Imagine” at her funeral service.
I’m thinking who is next? Tim McGraw? Another very vocal Democratic supporter.
?? Why would you assume this has anything to do with political affiliation? Men of all races, greeds, economic backgrounds, and political affiliations harass and abuse women. It’s not an exclusive thing….
Kaiser, I think many men don’t see what they are doing as rape. Sometimes they think that the sex is owed to them, sometimes they think that the victim is playing games with the word no. Sometimes they are so completely and utterly self-serving that they don’t hear anything from the victim at all. Famous people are infamous for having personalities that they keep all to themselves, and some see those that provide services to them as simply theirs to use. I have no opinion about this guy, but I have zero problems believing that someone who hassles women has a very tiny step to take to become a rapist.
I think this is so very true especially in men who are powerful. He considers it ‘consensual’ because who wouldn’t want to sleep with him, a superstar and legend!? He ignores her actual reactions and the fact that the imbalance of power is so huge. He takes what he assumes is his. I grew up with Garth Brooks songs even though I wasn’t really into country music–he had a kind of mass appeal I guess. This sucks. I wish it’s not true, but I’m not in the least bit surprised that a wholesome-seeming man could do terrible things behind closed doors. Let it all come out and have justice dealt to the guilty. (Whoever that may be)
Not shocking at all. Not. At. All.
If this was an attempted blackmail, why didn’t Garth go public right away?
He has unlimited money and resources.
He anonymously filed suit in federal court early yesterday morning. How he or his attorney’s thought filing his suit wouldn’t result in this blowing up by the end of the day is beyond me
“an anonymous plaintiff who describes themselves as “a celebrity and public figure who resides in Tennessee” is urging a federal court in Mississippi to declare a sexual assault accuser’s allegations untrue and stop her from further publicizing them — before she’s even filed a lawsuit — claiming that she is attempting to extort and defame him with “false allegations” that would “irreparably harm” his reputation and career.”
https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/03/entertainment/celebrity-lawsuit-sexual-assault-allegations/index.html
The evidence needs to come out. It will either exculpate him or vindicate her. I think, given the circumstances, it is highly possible the allegations are true. We’ve seen way too many people get away with worse because they are rich & powerful, and so very many of them, not just the rich and famous, present themselves publicly as good guys which is how/why they get away with doing horrible things
No, he anonymously filed in mid September, not yesterday, according to that article you linked.
Capable of cheating?? He cheated on his previous wife with Trisha while they were on tour together!
@MK 💯👏🏻
I’ve followed celeb gossip since middle school and grew up in the south, it was a huge scandal to my grandma when it came out about the affair. Others may wish to forget, but I don’t. I’ve been side eyeing the man ever since. He did a great job rebuilding his brand that’s for sure.
Maybe it’s all a lie. In that case why file against the accuser to have him remain anonymous?
The fact that he sued her first is why I’m giving him the side eye. I’m a victim advocate; There are three general (legal, not PR) playbooks accused individuals follow. The one Garth has chosen is the favorite of abusers who want to scare others into silence (sue them first, either for defamation or claim extortion and either push till the accused is out of money and withdraws or withdraw/settle “so your family can heal.” This playbook is the most brazen and is the favorite of non-celebrity narcissists who don’t think they can be caught. Knowing his public image, I’m truly shocked he picked this path.
Welp, there you go, that blind item yesterday was about Garth. I half jokingly said I hoped it wasn’t Keith Urban when I read the accuser was a hair and makeup artist who sometimes did his wife’s too, but that it was probably a country singer because they all seem to live in Tennessee. I don’t think I’d have predicted Garth, he’s always had the reputation of being all about his family but there have been plenty of “decent” guys who ended up being sexual predators. Hopefully the truth will end up coming out fully.
I saw that and immediately thought of Garth. Why did he file a cross suit to not publicize his name? If he is innocent, then the truth would out.
What blind item yesterday? On here?
@Rapunzel in the links post yesterday a commenter put up a link about it and several of us were speculating. My personal top guesses were Tim McGraw or Garth.
A Democrat and my birthday twin. I hope this accusation is not true.
It is awfully convenient timing for this to come out about a country music star endorsing a Democrat so close to the election.
I’m not saying I don’t believe the victim, I’m saying the timing is… convenient for some.
I don’t see how this impacts Harris’s campaign. Why would allegations against a country star impact anyone’s vote?
The only thing I would question is if the accuser has ties to Trump/Maga/Qanon. As someone who supports democrats, Brooks has a target on his back, and the MAGAts fight dirty.
Ah man, I hope it’s not true. Who even knows. I will be following the proceedings. If it is true, I hope she gets justice.
I think people are slow to want to believe it because of his reputation as being a good guy, and taking progressive political positions that have alienated him from his conservative fan base. My cynical side is wondering if it’s something coming from MAGA.
That doesn’t mean he can’t also be someone who assaults and rapes a woman, though, does it. Which is disheartening. I love his music and his concert was one of the best I’ve ever been to. 🙁
Kaiser I agree with you in that I hope this is not true but we will listen to both sides and see what happens.
Brooks’s position seems to be that the accuser was trying to extort money from him, so he filed preemptively to prevent her allegations from being repeated publicly. She opted to sue him civilly, presumably in order to get a financial award.
Why did neither party go to the police? If her facts are right, then these are serious charges with aggravating factors. If he is correct, then the charges would start at extortion and go out from there.
Ah yes, the police … they have such a great track record handling sexual assault cases:
-The church sexual abuse of children cases
– The Nassar violating gymnasts cases
– The tens of thousands of rape kits never tested
– Brock Turner and the many other rapists who were never convicted or got ridiculously light sentences or were never even charged because police, prosecutors, judges, juries “didn’t want to ruin some poor guy’s life over a moment of indiscretion”
-The history of blaming the victim, ruining the victim’s life and livelihood
It’s pretty clear why some women wouldn’t go to the police
My attacker was the sweetest guy you ever met. Everyone liked him. His wife had a disability. He was so good to his son. He was essential at work. So generous when tipping. Blah, blah, blah. Even I was surprised the first time something ‘off’ happened. And, wow, am I triggered right now. A good guy in public, with a squeaky clean reputation, does not always equal the same in private.
@Bumblebee thank you for sharing. I’m so sorry.
‘checks notes’? Believe women. Even if you don’t believe he can rape someone. Signed, a rape victim. who was raped by someone the police said was, quote, ‘out of my league’. Not sure why you’re defending a rapist but mysoginy runs deep.
@pink tutu thank you for sharing. I’m so sorry that happened to you and I’m sorry that some people in the commebts section are willing to stoop to conspiracy theories just to not have to confront the possibility. I hope they see your comment.
I am so sorry that happened to you Pink tutu.
Another rape survivor here. Number one, @Pinktutu I’m sorry the police treated you so horribly, and that you had to endure what happened to you. Side note: until it was recently pointed out to me, I am not a victim (anymore.) I am a survivor. Just as you are :).
For myself, I was raped by my narcissist ex-husband, who also abused me for 4.5 years prior to the event. I did not once go to the police, do I wish I had? Hell, yes. And now I have no evidence (I also repressed the event immediately after for 3 years). But I would NEVER sue him, because the only justice for me is if he’s in prison. I can’t stand it when victims go this route. It makes it look like she’s only out for money. And yes, he’s a celebrity, a big one at that, and I will add I’m sure he most definitely is guilty. But I don’t know if this was the way to go about it. Being a writer myself, I personally channeled my trauma and wrote a screenplay that I know will be an instigator for change, so I know I am doing something to help victims/survivors of SA/DV. Sadly, until the justice system changes, I don’t know what else to do. If I had evidence, I would’ve pressed charges. But filing a lawsuit?? Nope. Because money will not heal my wounds nor will it make him regret anything he did to me. Just my opinion.
Unfortunately in these he said/she said cases, getting a criminal conviction (beyond a reasonable doubt standard) is really challenging and the survivor doesn’t even get a say in whether the prosecution decides to pursue it, plea it down, dismiss it, etc. A civil case is a more likely than not standard, and moving forward/settling/dropping is entirely in the survivor’s control.
I find it curious that this is being filed as a lawsuit and Roe isn’t pressing charges. The statute of limitations for rape in California is 10 years, so there’s still time. I’m trying to remain neutral because we do need to believe women, but details about this situation are leaving me with the impression that this is an extortion attempt.
See my comment above— a civil case is another route to getting justice, and one in which the victim is in control (not a state prosecutor). For all we know, a state prosecutor has already declined to prosecute, which often has to do with the nature of the evidence and not the truth of the allegations. Lying about sexual assault almost never happens because these allegations bring on attacks on a person’s entire life and character — such as calling a woman an extortionist.
I feel like this is the grey area of partial truths on both sides… I believe Garth Brooks could be a cheater and say inappropriate things, absolutely… I don’t know that the assault allegations make a ton of sense and there are no solid facts or proof (yet). He’s got kids, a wife, and a huge presence in the US, so it makes perfect sense to me as for why he would try to block this from becoming public. Whether proven true or false, this news blows his entire life up. Even if he “just” said offensive things, it happened, and there should be repercussions for that, alone. If the assault allegations prove to be true, I hope she gets all the therapy and money she’s entitled to, and I hope his career suffers.
I am going to be team Female.
Decades ago, the local top AM radio show Host in Mpls. Tommy B. would regularly and openly call out Garth for garbage behavior. Tommy B. had a very long and varied career in the music biz, he always ruled the ratings by being a “shock jock” on a par with Howard Stern. Tommy and the station were constantly being sued bc TB would not follow the stations FCC rules.
In the 80’s-90’s Tom Bernhard and the KQ Morning Show were so big that when Howard Stern hit the air in MN, KQRS pounded him into the dirt in the ratings.
Tommy B., he went after Garth, David Lee Roth, Eddie, told a lot of stories about a lot of classic rock stars. He went after Ted Nugent and Steven Tyler for years, still played their music tho.
I miss the 80-2000’s.
He looks like a different person. I think he lost a lot of weight, but he looks very different now.
I saw a documentary recently, I don’t want to name it as I am about to give spoilers. I’ll keep it vague.
In it, a woman, we’ll call her Jane, suspects a guy of murder. We’ll call him John Doe.
We later find out John has murdered and raped multiple people. But early on, we don’t know that. And Jane has reasons to suspect, but it’s not from personal experience.
Anyway, Jane is ballsy. She was harassing him by calling his house, creating websites that said “John Doe murdered XYZ.”
The guy called the police and complained. The MURDERER / RAPIST had the god damn gall to call police and complain that Jane was harassing him and telling people he is a murderer, when his IS a murderer.
Of all the absolutely horrific things he did? That one left my jaw on the floor.
And it kind of comes into play here with Garth. I’m not saying he did it. But in general, I think we have seen lots of cases play out where the accused claims innocence and later we find out they did it. And it is always kind of shocking to me. I guess I just naively think “if you did it and you get caught, you are done, just admit it”, but time and again, that is NOT what they do. They will boldly just LIE, hoping I guess to get off on a technicality? And of course, the flip side is if a person IS falsely accused, they too will obviously say “I didn’t do it”.
This reminds me if when Charlie Rose was outed. Impeccable public credentials for decades, but so many women came out of the woodwork after the first one, and they had receipts. These things don’t generally get this far without some proof. If it’s true, we are about to find out. This sounds the same as these usually turn out.
I want it to not be true, but smoke has meant fire.
I too wondered if this will lead to other people speaking out. That always seems to be the way, and unfortunately is what it takes sometimes for a victim to be believed.
We’ve all seen what happens to women who try to expose sexual harassment and abuse perpetrated by someone famous. Look what E. Jean Carroll had to go through. Look at how Danny Masterson was protected by his Co$ cronies and famous friends. Look at the Pandora’s Box of sexual predators the “Me Too” movement uncovered. Look at the R. Kelly’s and P. Diddy’s and how frickin’ long it took to get them incarcerated. Men as rich and powerful as Brooks have the wealth and means to drag a woman through the mud reputationally and financially. These women are just trying to make a living, pay their rent/mortgage, raise kids, pay bills, etc. and can’t afford to be black-listed out of a career. I’m not saying Brooks did this, but the fact that he tried to block Roe from publicly repeating her allegations doesn’t look good.
It sounds to me like she has at least SOME receipts since the blurbs mention sexually explicit text messages he sent her. We all know the entertainment and music industries are rife with abusers easily blacklisting ppl out of the business when they don’t get their way. Many actresses and even nepo baby Mira Sorvino had their careers halted by Weinstein.
I wouldn’t be surprised if one of the reasons this woman didn’t leave was also because she had a friendship with the wife and felt trapped by a sense loyalty and not wanting to blow up their family. It sounds like they’d been working together for years first, she probably got close to the family, and then the husband slowly starts testing her boundaries and escalating his harassment.
If there are texts, then at minimum, he’s a sleazebag. So he’s cooked for now, at the least.
To your second point…that is an interesting perspective about what may have caused her to stay. Thank you for posting it.
@Brynne
Your second comment reminded me of a problem I had early in my marriage and also young motherhood. My relationship with most of the in laws was tenuous at best. My husband’s cousin and her husband were two people we loved so much we were considering asking them if we could put them down as our kids’ legal guardians in the event of our untimely deaths when we were constructing our will. The cousin is about 10 years older than us and her husband at the time was already almost 40. I was 25 at the time.
It was around this time that her husband would start finding ways to get me alone. He would follow me into empty rooms at his MIL’s house (who was more like a MIL to me than my actual MIL). Family gatherings etc. He began hugging me a little too long, trying to get really physically close, etc. I used to go up and visit with just the kids sometimes when my husband had to work. I stopped doing that, without explanation. I would only go with my husband and I stopped going into empty rooms. (I tend to need time to myself at large gatherings and will often excuse myself or quietly slip away to sit down in a quiet room for 30 minutes to decompress; I still do that to this day, even at events I’m hosting.) I stayed with my husband everywhere. For months I told nobody about what had happened (nothing huge, but enough to creep me out). Not even my husband. I finally told him and he reacted poorly. After he got his act together and realized I wasn’t the problem, we agreed not to say anything because we didn’t want to ruin our relationship with the family that actually liked us. I regret that choice, especially because after me, he tried something with their underage babysitter. She spoke up, she was braver than me. And my husband’s cousin divorced the guy.
While I feel guilt about my silence to this day, I understand why people don’t speak up. His family still doesn’t know. It’s been 16 years.
What do we know about Garth Brooks? We know he has cheated in the past.
Maybe he cheated on his wife with his accuser. Or maybe he did what she says and he raped her.
History tells us that the first victim has the hardest time speaking up. But then more women usually come forward. If the rape allegations are true then we will hear from other victims.
My personal take on this is that there was sex involved here. Was it consensual or rape? I don’t know. But rapists don’t abuse just one woman.
At a minimum I think Garth cheated and that’s why he tried to shut this down. And if he’s a rapist I sincerely hope that he suffers the consequences for his behavior.
Cali,
Perfectly said. I agree completely!
When someone gets away with rape it increases the odds they will attempt to rape again. This woman is claiming he raped her in 2019 which was five years ago. So if he raped her and got away with it there is a good chance he, at the least, attempted to rape someone else.
I hate knowing that and I hate this involves Garth. But if he did harass/rape her I hope the full truth of who he is and who he has harmed comes out.
If she just wanted to extort money from him, and the sex was consensual, the secret that he’d had an affair with her would be sufficient to blow up his image & marriage so that’s enough for blackmail. There is no reason to say it was rape if it was consensual and her goal was just a payoff.
I’m a pretty strong Garth fan. Just love the guy. So obviously, I want him to be innocent of all of this. However…
Unfortunately, (for the sake of fairness) if there are sexy/harassing texts then, at the minimum, he’s a sleazebag. It also helps provide weight to the other accusations.
Also, just like every other big name case, now that this is a public story, there could be other victims who come forward.
So gird your loins, Bitchies, it could be a bumpy ride.
My husband and I were eating supper tonight and were discussing Garth Brooks situation-I said it is hard for me to believe he did this-but maybe there is something in his background the public does not know-I don’t see him doing this but anything is possible-the me too movement makes it hard for an accused person to stand up for themselves and say no I did not do this-most of the time these things do happen and the woman is telling the truth-but there is a small percentage that the accuser is trying to blackmail, get money, of just want to become famous- then the accused is hurt badly and their reputation will be hard to fix.
People shouldn’t have to justify their decisions for why they choose to stay or leave their jobs. However I will throw out there that maybe leaving a job with a high profile client under these circumstances would have led to possible bad word of mouth getting around, making it difficult for the victim to find a new job. Even just vague or sly insinuations by an ex-client, particularly in her industry, could have cost the victim her livelihood.