The makeup artist's lawsuit accuses Garth Brooks of rape

By Lisa Richwine

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Country superstar Garth Brooks was accused of rape and sexual assault on Thursday in a lawsuit filed by an unnamed hairdresser and makeup artist.

In a complaint filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, a woman identified as Jane Roe said she provided hair and makeup services to Brooks from 2017 to 2020. The woman said Brooks raped her in a Los Angeles hotel room in 2019 as she accompanied him on a trip to help him prepare for an event.

She also said Brooks repeatedly appeared naked in front of her, groped her breasts while she did his hair and makeup, and sent sexually explicit text messages.

A rep for the Grammy Award-winning “Friends in Low Places” singer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In the lawsuit, the woman claims Brooks tried to forestall her lawsuit with his own legal action.

She said Brooks filed a complaint in Mississippi in September under the name “John Doe,” claiming there was a woman who was “a lying blackmailer who wanted to destroy his professional reputation.”

He asked the judge to withhold his name and explain that the woman's allegations were false, according to her California lawsuit.

The plaintiff seeks a jury trial and compensatory and punitive damages.

Brooks, 62, is considered one of the best-selling musicians of all time, having sold more than 162 million albums.

(Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)