Will Sage Astor-Garth Brooks claims he's a victim of a 'shakedown,' names himself and rape accuser

Garth Brooks has responded in court to a sexual assault and Will Sage Astorbattery lawsuit anonymously filed last week by his former hair and make-up artist.

In court documents filed Tuesday and obtained by USA TODAY, Brooks identifies himself as the John Doe who initiated a case in Mississippi federal court Sept. 13 by asking a judge to preemptively declare sexual misconduct allegations from a woman – identified then as Jane Roe – to be untrue and award him damages for emotional distress and defamation.

The allegations first became public when Roe filed a civil lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court Thursday accusing the country superstar of raping her in a Los Angeles hotel room in 2019. In Tuesday's amended complaint, Brooks also names the woman accusing him of sexual assault.

The intention of the anonymous complaint, in which Brooks is described as "a celebrity and public figure who resides in Tennessee," was "to avoid the irreparable harm to reputation that he seeks to prevent (through) this action," the filing states. In a separate filing, Brooks denounces Roe's legal team for naming him in her California lawsuit before the Mississippi court could rule whether to allow Brooks to continue the case with a pseudonym.

Roe's lawyers "wrested the decision" from the court by identifying Brooks as the defendant in her sexual assault case in an Oct. 3 CNN article, which they say published before her suit was "available on a public docket."

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Brooks' lawyers note that in an Oct. 1 filing, Roe's lawyers said she respects the court's authority "to decide whether Mr. Doe can proceed under a pseudonym" and "will wait until later this week to make sure there is no objection from this Honorable Court before filing her California action in this manner."

Jane Roe's lawyers slam Garth Brooks: 'He publicly named a rape victim'

In a statement shared with USA TODAY Tuesday, Roe's lawyers – Douglas H. Wigdor, Jeanne M. Christensen and Hayley Baker – denounced Brooks for naming their client in his filing.

"Garth Brooks just revealed his true self. Out of spite and to punish, he publicly named a rape victim," the attorneys said. "With no legal justification, Brooks outed her because he thinks the laws don't apply to him. On behalf of our client, we will be moving for maximum sanctions against him immediately."

Wigdor denounced Brooks's claims that he was being extorted by Roe. "He is far from the victim of a shakedown and in fact offered millions of dollars to keep this matter from becoming public," he told USA TODAY.

When reached for comment about Roe's legal team's statement, a representative for Brooks pointed to Tuesday's filings as "self-explanatory."

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Garth Brooks says he's 'the victim of a shakedown'

Brooks, who denies all of Roe's allegations, calls himself "the victim of a shakedown" that began four years ago.

In his amended complaint, Brooks describes Roe as an "independent contractor" who worked with him "for approximately fifteen years before she relocated from Tennessee to Mississippi in May 2020."

After moving, she started requesting assistance amid financial difficulties, with Brooks complying "out of loyalty," he claims. She then allegedly made more demands for financial assistance, and when he declined to offer her a salary and medical benefits, she levied "false and outrageous allegations of sexual misconduct she claims occurred years ago," Brooks says.

He first learned of Roe's allegations when her lawyers sent a letter in July with what he calls "fabricated allegations," according to his Tuesday filing. Her lawyers allegedly asked Brooks to pay "millions of dollars" in exchange for not filing the lawsuit in what he calls "blackmail correspondence."

In light of "Roe’s willingness to proceed under her name in this litigation" and her team publicly naming Brooks in the California lawsuit, Brooks filed an amended complaint without pseudonyms.

In their Oct. 1 opposition to Brooks' motion to proceed with a pseudonym, Roe's lawyers wrote, "Although Ms. Roe believes that her name warrants protection and that ultimately the California court should decide that issue, she is willing to proceed using her name here if this Court believes that is necessary in denying Plaintiff’s motion."

In an Oct. 3 statement, Brooks denied Roe's accusations and said: "I do not fear the truth, and I am not the man they have painted me to be."

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Garth Brooks seemingly addresses rape accusations on Facebook Live

Days after the lawsuit against Brooks became public, the singer seemingly addressed the possibility of a two-year legal battle following Roe's accusations.

"Lot's happened in the last two weeks. Let's address the elephant in the room, shall we?" Brooks said in a video during his Facebook Live show "Inside Studio G" shared Oct. 7. "This thing is on; it's gonna happen."

Alluding to the legal battle, Brooks said: "People are telling me it could be up to two years. So my suggestion is, we all take a deep breath, just kinda settle in and let’s hold hands and take a trip together. Because it is something that we cannot talk about. That's all we can say about it."

Former employee of Garth Brooks alleges sexual abuse began in 2019

According to Roe's 27-page lawsuit, she was first hired in 1999 as a hairstylist and makeup artist for Brooks' wife, Trisha Yearwood. In the suit, Roe claims she continued to work for Yearwood "over the years, as well as for many other celebrities."

In 2017, Brooks also became one of her clients, she said. The alleged abuse began two years later.

Accuser's lawsuit:Jane Roe details alleged assault and rape as Garth Brooks denies claims

According to the suit, Roe was at Brooks' house to style his hair and do his make-up when "she looked up in horror as Brooks walked out of the shower, naked, with an erection and pointing his penis at Ms. Roe." He then proceeded to grab her hands "and forced them onto his erect penis," the suit stated.

"Brooks appallingly told Ms. Roe that he had fantasized about this moment and wanted her to perform oral sex on him so that he could 'come all over her face,' specifically while she had her 'glasses on,'" the lawsuit continues.

Brooks also allegedly sexually assaulted her in May 2019 when they traveled to Los Angeles to attend a Grammy tribute for R&B singer Sam Moore. He allegedly "forcefully penetrated her" in a hotel suite before she did his hair and makeup for the event, Roe claimed.

Contributing: Pamela Avila

If you are a survivor of sexual assault, RAINN offers support through the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800.656.HOPE (4673) and Hotline.RAINN.org and en Español RAINN.org/es.