Garth Brooks says suing a sexual assault accuser for defamation is a “double-edged sword.”
According to court documents obtained by Fox News Digital, the country star is accused of raping “Jane Roe” in 2019 while on a business trip. According to documents filed by “Jane Roe”, the woman was first hired in 1999 to do makeup and hair styling for Brooks' wife, Trisha Yearwood. She began working for Brooks doing makeup and hair in 2017, several years before the alleged events.
Brooks, 62, denied the allegations and amended his complaint against “Jane Roe” in an Oct. 8 filing obtained by Fox News Digital. The “Much Too Young” singer accused the woman he named in the lawsuit of attempted extortion, defamation, invasion of privacy by false light and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
His decision to sue the accuser and release her name was a “bold move” that carries “significant risk,” Duncan Levin, a former defense attorney for Harvey Weinstein, told Fox News Digital.
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“On the one hand, the filing of the defamation lawsuit signals that Brooks is taking an aggressive stance to protect his reputation,” said a lawyer who is not involved in Brooks' case. “This can sometimes work to the advantage of public figures who believe they have been falsely accused because it forces the accuser to provide evidence to support their claims. However, naming the accuser can backfire, especially if the accusation is credible or if the accuser gains sympathy from the party. It could also be seen as an attempt to intimidate or discourage other potential accusers from coming forward, which would be met with criticism. Legally, Brooks will have to prove that the allegations are false and have caused damage to his image, which is a high hurdle for defamation. matters.”
Lawyers for Brooks' accuser said in a statement to Fox News Digital: “Garth Brooks just revealed his true self. Out of spite and in order to punish him, he publicly named the rape victim. Brooks revealed her without any legal justification because he believes that the law should not be addressed to him. On behalf of our client, we will immediately seek the maximum sanctions against him.”
According to a criminal defense attorney, most celebrities prefer not to name their accuser to avoid public reaction.
“It is possible that Brooks or his legal team feel confident in their defense, which may explain why they want to take such an aggressive approach,” Levin explained. “The filing of the lawsuit suggests that they believe they can not only refute the allegations, but also demonstrate that they are baseless. Still, it's a double-edged sword. If Brooks doesn't have a strong defense, it could look like retaliation and damage his reputation even more.”
“In summary, this is a high-risk, high-reward strategy,” the lawyer continued. “If Brooks wins the defamation suit, it could clear his name in court from the public eye. However, if the counterclaim backfires, it could create a negative public perception and expose him to greater legal risk.”
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According to the complaint obtained by Fox News Digital, Brooks originally filed the lawsuit in an attempt to block the makeup artist's upcoming lawsuit in September. In a court document filed under the heading “John Doe,” Brooks denied the woman's claims.
In July, the woman contacted Brooks through a lawyer with a demand letter in which she accused the “Friends in Low Places” singer of sexual “grooming,” creating a sexually hostile work environment at work, unwanted sexual touching and assault sexual reasons,” says the court. documents. In August, Brooks allegedly received a letter from the victim's attorney stating that the lawsuit could be avoided in exchange for a “multi-million dollar settlement.”
“The filing of the lawsuit suggests that they believe they can not only refute the allegations, but also demonstrate that they are baseless. Still, it's a double-edged sword. If Brooks doesn't have a strong defense, it could look like retaliation and damage his reputation even more.”
While Brooks' filing of the lawsuit first puts the singer in a “good position,” legal expert Jeff Lewis noted that the musician still bears a “heavy burden.”
“Garth Brooks is obviously well represented,” Lewis, a defamation lawyer, told Fox News Digital. “By filing a lawsuit first, he is in a good position to ask for the right to be a plaintiff. This would allow him to present his case to the jury at the beginning of the trial, giving the alleged sexual assault victim the appearance of bringing his or her claims in retaliation. Additionally, by filing a lawsuit in Mississippi, you can avoid California laws that make it more difficult to successfully litigate a defamation case. This “sue first” strategy is very unusual and shows that Brooks is signaling that he is willing to take it. I also suspect that Brooks' lawyers will file a motion in Los Angeles to have the claim transferred out of Los Angeles and litigated in Mississippi along with the defamation suit.
“As a public figure, Brooks will have to prove in court that not only did his hairdresser lie about him, but she also did so with actual malice, meaning she knew what she was saying was false,” he added . “This is a very heavy burden that some celebrity plaintiffs have difficulty meeting.”
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According to the lawsuit filed by “Jane Roe,” Brooks and the makeup artist traveled to Los Angeles in 2019 to pay tribute to R&B singer Sam Moore at the Grammys. Instead of having separate rooms, “Jane Roe” said that only one room was reserved for the two of them. Upon arrival, Brooks allegedly raped the makeup artist.
Before the alleged rape, the makeup artist said Brooks stepped out of the shower at her home in 2019. “She looked on in horror as Brooks emerged from the shower naked, with an erection and pointing his penis at her.” The musician allegedly told “Jane Roe” that he had “fantasized about this moment” and asked her to perform oral sex on him.
In the filing, “Jane Roe” posted a screenshot of a sexually explicit text message exchange that allegedly occurred between her and Brooks.
The makeup artist claimed Brooks took her phone in 2020 and “deleted most of the texts” she sent to “Jane Roe.” However, several text messages remained, including one exchange with the beginning edited but ending with: “And that huge stick you're carrying around! Roo-sevelt!!”
“I'll take that nickname,” Brooks allegedly replied, before adding, “Thank you. I love you”.
Text messages and audio recordings can “strengthen” a sexual assault case when the alleged events took place behind closed doors, former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani told Fox News Digital.
“If the messages and recordings are accurate, it appears that some type of sexual activity took place between Brooks and Roe,” said Rahmani, founder of West Coast Trial Lawyers. “So the question is: was it consensual or not? This is what distinguishes rape from an affair.”
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While text messages can strengthen a civil case, they must be authenticated, Angela Reddock-Wright, an employment and Title IX attorney based in Los Angeles, told Fox News Digital.
“The best way to have text messages admitted into civil proceedings is to subpoena the text messages from the cell phone carrier where they are stored, and then have the messages authenticated by an authorized representative of the cell phone company and/or a forensic specialist who specializes in data recovery mobile phones,” said the lawyer.
“Brooks committed a crime and sued Roe for extortion,” Rahmani added. “It helped him get ahead of the negative press and frame Roe as a probationary artist. “But if Roe has receipts and other evidence supporting sexual assault, no amount of PR will help Brooks in the courtroom or in court.” public opinion.”
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