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Garth Brooks performs in Vegas amid sexual assault allegations: 'It was necessary'

Garth Brooks performs in Vegas amid sexual assault allegations: 'It was necessary'

For Garth Brooks, the show went on amid his sexual assault lawsuit.

The country star shared an emotional Instagram post on Thursday after performing in Las Vegas after a former employee filed a lawsuit against him accusing him of sexual assault and rape.

“If there was ever a night I really needed this, it was TONIGHT! Thank you for my life!!!!! Love, g,” Brooks, 62, wrote alongside a picture of himself performing in front of a sold-out crowd.

Garth Brooks will host the 58th Academy of Country Music Awards in Frisco, Texas on May 11, 2023. REUTERS

The singer is in the middle of his residency at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, which began in May 2023 and is scheduled to last until early 2025.

Earlier that day, it was revealed that a woman who claims to have worked as his hairdresser and makeup artist accused Brooks of rape and assault – but the Country Music Awards winner maintained his innocence. He likened the allegations to having “a loaded gun waved in his face.”

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in a California court by a woman identified only as “Jane Roe,” says Brooks allegedly raped her in a hotel room where she was alone with the artist and separated from her felt “trapped”. Back in May 2019, the couple had reportedly just traveled alone on their private jet to Los Angeles to attend a Grammy taping.

The alleged victim was first hired as a hair and makeup artist for Brooks' wife, Trisha Yearwood, in 1999, but then joined Brooks' team in 2017, the lawsuit says.

Garth Brooks played to a sold-out crowd despite being accused of sexual assault. Instagram / @garthbrooks
Garth Brooks has returned to the stage.

In addition to sexual assault and battery, Brooks is accused of repeatedly exposing his genitals and buttocks, discussing sex and sharing sexual fantasies with Roe, regularly changing clothes in front of her and sending her sexually explicit text messages, they say in the lawsuit, obtained by CNN.

The lawsuit alleges that these incidents occurred in 2019.

“We are confident that Brooks will be held accountable for his actions,” attorneys Douglas H. Wigdor, Jeanne M. Christensen and Hayley Baker said in a statement to CNN.

The statement continued: “We applaud our client’s courage in moving forward with her complaint against Garth Brooks. “The complaint filed today shows that sexual predators exist not only in corporate America, in Hollywood, and in the rap and rock and roll industries, but also in the world of country music.”

The lawsuit against Garth Brooks has been made public. LASC/MEGA

Brooks previously denied his accuser's allegations and tried to prevent Roe from publicly repeating her allegations, according to a previous complaint he filed as “John Doe,” according to CNN.

He claimed Roe's legal counsel sent him a “confidential” warning letter alleging sexual misconduct after he denied her request for “employment and medical benefits,” the outlet reported. But Roe's lawyers claim the preemptive action was an act of desperation to intimidate and silence his accuser.

A lawsuit has been filed against county star Garth Brooks. LASC/MEGA

According to CNN, Brooks said in a statement from his publicist that he filed the anonymous complaint nearly a month ago “in the interest of the families on both sides” and to speak out against extortion and defamation.

“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. “It was like a loaded gun was being waved in my face,” the star explained.

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

Garth Brooks performs onstage during Homeward Bound: A GRAMMY Salute to the Songs of Paul Simon at the Hollywood Pantages Theater on April 6, 2022 in Hollywood. Getty Images for The Recording Academy

Brooks noted that he wants to focus on his career and continue making music and doing “good deeds,” but he is heartbroken because his integrity is being questioned.

“I trust the system, I'm not afraid of the truth and I'm not the man they made me out to be,” he said.

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