Garth Brooks’ Rape Accusers Blast Singer For ‘Sham’ Preemptive Trial

The woman who claimed Garth Brooks forcibly raped her in a Los Angeles hotel room in 2019 is slamming the country singer’s efforts to have her sexual assault lawsuit dismissed in California.

In new legal acts obtained by Rolling StoneJane Roe plaintiff asks federal judge to reject Brooks’ argument that her highly graphic sexual-assault lawsuit, filed Oct. 3 in Los Angeles, is “duplicative” of the defamation and racketeering suit he filed against Roe in Mississippi last September.

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Attorneys for Jane Roe remain adamant that her claims belong in California, where the alleged sexual misconduct took place. They argue that Brooks and his legal team had no right to sue “without any notice or warning” in Mississippi on Sept. 13 while actively engaged in ongoing, apparently cordial settlement discussions dating back to July.

“Brooks’ bad faith, fraudulent act was nothing more than a forum-shopping maneuver,” the attorneys allege in the new paperwork filed Friday. They say the Mississippi lawsuit was “meant to preempt” their client’s proposed California complaint and “deny her access” to California’s anti-SLAPP statute, a law that protects against frivolous claims designed to silence someone’s right to free speech. “Brooks rushed to the courthouse to file first in Mississippi — a forum he believed would be more sympathetic to him than California, in part because Mississippi does not have an anti-SLAPP statute,” the attorneys allege.

In her lawsuit, Roe alleged that Brooks raped her in May 2019 while she was working as his hair and makeup artist for a music industry event. She claimed that Brooks, who is a foot taller and more than 100 pounds heavier than her, held her upside down at one point and “forcefully penetrated her.” Brooks denied that this took place.

According to Roe, Brooks sexually assaulted her again during another trip to Los Angeles in October 2019. She alleged that he groped her body and breasts and at one point “held onto her crotch” while he propositioned her. The woman said she only managed to escape because he was late and had people waiting for him. Brooks denied ever assaulting Roe.

Roe’s lawyers argue in the new suit that she deserves a jury in California. “The primary relevant events occurred in Los Angeles, California. Not a single act or event giving rise to any alleged cause of action by Brooks occurred in Mississippi,” their paperwork states.

The attorneys also accuse Brooks of outing their client by using her real name and including photos of her in their Mississippi-based files after she filed her lawsuit in Los Angeles. They say that after Brooks’ “underhanded vindictive tactics,” their client filed his own motion to dismiss his Mississippi complaint. That case is now sealed. “This court should not reward Brooks for his bad faith tricks,” Roe’s lawyers state in their Friday filing, asking for a denial of his motion to dismiss.

Brooks’ attorneys did not immediately respond Rolling Stone’s request for comment sent Monday.

In his Sept. 13 pretrial motion in Mississippi, Brooks claimed he was the victim of an “ongoing extortion attempt.” He called the woman’s claims “outrageous” and asked the court to declare them false. In his dismissal motion in California, Brooks claimed he was the victim of “extortion.”

“Roe asked Brooks for increasing amounts of financial assistance, which he ultimately declined to provide, and she then responded with false and outrageous allegations of sexual misconduct that she claims occurred years ago,” his dismissal motion said. “Roe attempted to blackmail Brooks by offering to refrain from publicly filing his false allegations in a lawsuit in exchange for a multi-million dollar payment.”

A hearing on Brooks’ motion to dismiss the case in California was set for Dec. 9, but both sides have asked that it be pushed back a week, to Dec. 16. A judge has not yet ruled.

In an earlier statement, Brooks disputed Roe’s claims. “For the past two months, I have been harassed endlessly with threats, lies and tragic tales of what my future would be if I didn’t write a multi-million dollar check,” the country singer said in a statement to Rolling Stone. “It’s been like having a loaded gun waved in my face.”

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