Today, Wigdor LLP filed a sexual assault complaint against two-time Grammy winner Garth Brooks on behalf of our client, makeup artist Jane Roe. Garth Brooks is the second best-selling artist of all time in the U.S., bested only by The Beatles. Given his wealth and fame, Brooks was in a position to assist Ms. Roe upon learning of her financial hardship and he began to hire her more frequently; however, it was not long before he took advantage of Ms. Roe, believing his assistance entitled him to sexual gratification.
As alleged in the complaint, Ms. Roe endured painful and traumatic rape and sexual assault at the hands of Brooks. Though she repeatedly attempted to ward off his sexual misconduct, he increasingly subjected her to verbal and physically inappropriate attacks.
In an obvious attempt at silencing and bullying Ms. Roe, Brooks originally filed a preemptive complaint in federal court in Mississippi. He timed his own lawsuit to proceed anonymously after learning of Ms. Roe’s plan to file her complaint in California.
Please find the full complaint HERE.
Statement of Douglas H. Wigdor (Founding Partner Wigdor LLP), Jeanne M. Christensen (Partner Wigdor LLP), and Hayley Baker (HB Advocates PLLC):
“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. 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. We encourage others who may have been victimized to contact us as no survivor should suffer in silence.”