Garth Brooks responds to sexual assault allegations

Garth Brooks issued a statement Thursday after being accused of sexual assault by an anonymous “Jane Roe” plaintiff while she worked for him as a hair and makeup artist.

“For the past two months, I have been endlessly plagued with threats, lies and tragic stories about what my future would be if I did not write a multi-million dollar check,” the country singer said in a statement to Rolling Stone. “It was like a loaded gun was being waved in my face.”

Brooks continued: “Hush money, no matter how much or how little, is still hush money. For me it means admitting to behavior that I am incapable of – ugly actions that no human being should do to another.”

The statement continued: “We filed a lawsuit against this individual almost a month ago to speak out against extortion and defamation of reputation. In the interest of the families of both sides, we filed the complaint anonymously.”

Brooks, who will perform in Las Vegas tonight, concluded: “I want to play music tonight. I would like to continue our good deeds in the future. It breaks my heart that these wonderful things are now being called into question. I trust the system, I’m not afraid of the truth and I’m not the man they made me out to be.”

On Thursday, it was revealed that Roe had filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court accusing Brooks of assault that occurred during a styling appointment at his home.

Roe says she was first hired in 1999 to do hair and makeup for Brooks' wife, Trisha Yearwood, but moved to Brooks in 2017. She claims Brooks also groped her and sent her explicit text messages. The woman claimed a second incident occurred when she agreed to travel with Brooks to Los Angeles for a Grammy tribute to soul singer Sam Moore. She claimed Brooks “locked her in a hotel room,” “grabbed her hands and pulled her” onto a bed, where he allegedly raped her.

Jane Roe is suing under California's Sexual Abuse and Cover-Up Accountability Act for sexual assault, assault and gender-based violence.

Last month, before Roe filed her lawsuit, Brooks denied her allegations in a preemptive lawsuit filed in federal court in Mississippi. This complaint was filed anonymously, with the plaintiff described only as a “celebrity and public figure residing in Tennessee.”