Garth Brooks' former makeup artist accuses country star of sexual ...

A makeup artist accused country music megastar Garth Brooks of sexually assaulting her in a lawsuit her attorneys said they filed Thursday. In a separate lawsuit filed last month, Brooks accused the woman of extortion and defamation.

The woman, who is identified by the pseudonym Jane Roe in her lawsuit, says that Brooks raped her in a hotel room and subjected her to unwanted sexual advances, which she says traumatized her to the point of considering suicide.

In a different lawsuit Brooks filed in September, the singer claims the woman was attempting to extort him for money by threatening to file a lawsuit with sexual misconduct allegations he says are fabricated.

According to the woman's lawsuit, she had done Brooks' makeup and hair styling since 2017. The woman claims the misconduct began in 2019. The lawsuit accuses Brooks of raping the woman in a hotel room during a trip to Los Angeles for a Grammy tribute to another artist. The woman also accuses Brooks of groping her, regularly exposing himself while changing in front of her, sending her inappropriate messages and discussing his sexual fantasies with her.

The lawsuit does not specify exactly when the woman stopped working for Brooks but states she moved to Mississippi in May 2021.

In a statement Thursday, Brooks said that for the last two months, he was "hassled" to "write a check for many millions of dollars."

“Hush money, no matter how much or how little, is still hush money," Brooks said. "In my mind, that means I am admitting to behavior I am incapable of — ugly acts no human should ever do to another."

The woman is represented by Douglas Wigdor, a prominent lawyer who represented eight clients in sexual assault lawsuits against disgraced former film producer Harvey Weinstein; Jeanne Christensen, a partner at Wigdor's firm; and Nashville lawyer Hayley Baker.

"We applaud our client’s courage in moving forward with her complaint against Garth Brooks. The complaint filed today 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," a statement from the attorneys reads in part.

On Sept. 13, an anonymous plaintiff identified only as a celebrity living in Tennessee sued an unnamed woman he said previously worked for him in a Mississippi federal court, alleging that the woman planned to sue unless he paid her several million dollars. On Thursday, Brooks admitted he was that celebrity and said he filed the suit anonymously "for the sake of families on both sides."

In that lawsuit, Brooks states that allegations of sexual misconduct included in a letter the woman's lawyers sent to him in July before suing him were not true.

"Defendant is well aware, however, of the substantial, irreparable damage such false allegations would do to Plaintiff’s well-earned reputation as a decent and caring person, along with the unavoidable damage to his family and the irreparable damage to his career and livelihood that would result if she made good on her threat to 'publicly file' her fabricated lawsuit," the lawsuit against the woman states.

On Thursday, Brooks said he trusted the system.

"I do not fear the truth, and I am not the man they have painted me to be," he said.

The accuser's attorneys see the Mississippi lawsuit as a preemptive attempt to silence their client.

"We are confident that Brooks will be held accountable for his actions and his efforts to silence our client through the filing of a preemptive complaint in Mississippi was nothing other than an act of desperation and attempted intimidation," the attorneys' statement reads. "We encourage others who may have been victimized to contact us as no survivor should suffer in silence.”

An employee at the California Superior Court for Los Angeles County said the woman's lawsuit did not yet appear in court record but that it often takes at least two days for a filing to be accepted and assigned a docket number. The woman's attorneys said the lawsuit was filed Thursday.

The lawsuit brings six claims against Brooks: assault, battery, sexual battery, gender violence, and violations of the Bane Act and Ralph Act, two California state laws that protect people from violence or intimidation and threats of violence.

The Mississippi lawsuit accuses the woman of defamation, false light invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Evan Mealins is the justice reporter for The Tennessean. Contact him at emealins@gannett.com or follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @EvanMealins.