This is truly shocking. Garth and Trisha are like royalty in Nashville—he often calls her the queen," a music industry insider exclusively told PEOPLE, referring to Brooks' wife, Trisha Yearwood.
The source also noted Brooks' prominence in the city, pointing out the billboards around town featuring him promoting his bar, Friends in Low Places Bar & Honky Tonk. "It will be interesting to see if those come down now," they added.
On Thursday, Brooks' former hairstylist and makeup artist, identified as "Jane Roe" in the lawsuit, filed a complaint in California state court accusing him of sexual assault and battery. According to the complaint, Roe claims Brooks sexually assaulted and raped her in 2019, exposed himself to her, discussed explicit sexual fantasies (including ones involving threesomes with Yearwood), and sent her sexually suggestive text messages.
In response, Brooks, who had filed a prior complaint under "John Doe" on Sept. 13 to prevent the allegations from going public, denied the claims. He accused Roe of being "a lying extortionist" aiming to ruin his reputation. In a statement to PEOPLE, Brooks expressed his frustration with the ongoing legal battle.
"For the past two months, I've been relentlessly threatened, lied to, and told horrific stories about my future if I didn’t write a multimillion-dollar check. It's felt like having a loaded gun held to my head," Brooks said.
He emphasized his refusal to pay what he described as "hush money," stating, "In my mind, that means admitting to actions I’m incapable of—ugly acts no human being should ever commit."
Brooks also explained that he and his team filed their lawsuit anonymously to protect the families involved, adding, "I want to focus on my music and continue doing good work. It breaks my heart that these positive things are now under scrutiny. But I trust the system, and I do not fear the truth. I am not the person they are portraying me to be.