Garth Brooks, country singer considered the king of the genre in the United States, has denied rape accusations made against him by his former hair and makeup artist, in a statement published by the magazine People.
• Also read: Garth Brooks accused of rape by hairdresser who allegedly considered suicide
“For the past two months, I have been harassed endlessly with threats, lies and tragic stories about what my future would be like if I didn’t sign a check for millions of dollars,” says the singer.
“I trust the system, I’m not afraid of the truth and I’m not the man they’ve portrayed it to be,” he said.
According to the complaint filed Thursday in a Los Angeles court, the alleged facts date back to 2019. A former employee of the singer, whose anonymity is preserved in the document, accuses him of having raped her in a hotel room.
She also accuses the singer of having made repeated sexual advances towards her and of exposing himself in front of her.
She says she was traumatized and thought about committing suicide.
She is represented by Douglas Wigdor, a lawyer famous in the United States for his involvement in numerous cases of sexual violence revealed by the #MeToo movement.
According to the press release from the singer, who is performing in Las Vegas until early 2025, his team has filed a complaint against the plaintiff for extortion and defamation.
At 62, Garth Brooks is a country legend, who exploded in the 1990s. In 2015, he overtook Elvis Presley in the ranking of solo singers who sold the most albums in the United States.
This complaint is the latest against a music star after the avalanche of accusations brought against rapper P. Diddy, already incarcerated for sex trafficking, and who has just been implicated by 120 alleged victims for sexual assault.
