Garth Brooks denies sex assault allegations - 'I am not the man they have painted me to be'

Country music star Garth Brooks said "I am not the man they have painted me to be" after a former employee accused him of sexual assault and battery.

The female claimed Brooks, 62, raped her in a hotel room in 2019.

He is accused of subjecting her to unwanted sexual conduct, including exposing himself on several occasions and "groping her breasts".

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The woman, identified as Jane Roe in the lawsuit filed in the Los Angeles Superior Court, claimed the trauma from the alleged sexual assault became "so unbearable" that she contemplated taking her own life.

Two-time Grammy winner Brooks, who played five concerts at Croke Park in 2022, has since said the lawsuit is an attempt at extortion for "millions of dollars".

(L-R) Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood have been married since 2005
(Image: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images)

In a statement, he added: "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 cheque for many millions of dollars.

"It has been like having a loaded gun waved in my face.

"Hush money, no matter how much or how little, is still hush money.

"In my mind, that means I am admitting to behaviour I am incapable of, ugly acts no human should ever do to another." In the lawsuit, the woman claims she was forced to keep working for the country superstar because of financial hardship, which he knew about and allegedly exploited.

Brooks filed an anonymous lawsuit last month in Mississippi in which he asked a judge to stop the publication of "false allegations of sexual misconduct" by the woman.

In a statement, he added: "I trust the system. I do not fear the truth, and I am not the man they have painted me to be."

Lawyers from Wigdor LLP, acting on behalf of the alleged injured party, said: "We applaud our client’s courage in moving forward with her complaint against Garth Brooks.

"The complaint filed demonstrates that sexual predators exist not only in corporate America, Hollywood and in the rap and rock and roll industries but also in the world of country music."

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