Garth Brooks speaking at the 2023 Music City Walk of Fame Induction ceremony in Nashville, Tennessee. Photo: AFP/ Jason Kempin
Country star Garth Brooks has denied rape accusations against him as he returned to his Las Vegas concert residency in the wake of a sexual misconduct lawsuit filed against him.
In a statement to People magazine, the 62-year-old dismissed the allegations, in which a former employee accuses Brooks of rape and repeated unwanted sexual advances, including exposing himself and groping.
"I have been hassled to no end with threats, lies, and tragic tales of what my future would be if I did not write a check for many millions of dollars," Brooks said, adding his team had filed suit against the woman for extortion and defamation.
"It has been like having a loaded gun waved in my face," he said.
"I trust the system, I do not fear the truth, and I am not the man they have painted me to be."
The accuser's attorney Douglas Wigdor said in a statement sent to AFP on Friday that Brooks' suggestion "that he was unwilling to pay millions is simply not true."
"It seems as though Sean Combs and Garth Brooks are using the same public relations team by attacking legitimate victims," Wigdor said.
"We are very confident in our case and over time the public will see his true character rather than his highly curated persona."
The lawsuit against Brooks is the latest levelled against a music star after more than 100 people filed suit against rapper and music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs, alleging he subjected them to sexual abuse, on top of the federal racketeering and sex trafficking charges he is already facing.
Wigdor also represents Cassie, the artist who was in a long-term relationship with Combs and whose initial sexual assault lawsuit against him triggered a spate of other allegations against him from others.
The suit against Brooks, which demands unspecified damages, says the accuser was so traumatised by an attack in May 2019 that she later considered suicide.
"Brooks appeared in the doorway to the bedroom, completely naked," details the suit of the alleged assault.
"He stood there and flexed his muscles. (She) immediately had a sick feeling in her stomach, knowing she was trapped in the room alone with Brooks, with no one to help."
In an Instagram post centred on his Thursday concert, Brooks wrote that "If there was ever a night that I really needed this, TONIGHT was that night!" alongside an image of The Colosseum at Caesars Palace, where he is set to continue a residency through early 2025.
Brooks surged to international fame in the 1990s, with hits including "Friends in Low Places" and "The Dance."
In 2015, he topped Elvis Presley for the highest number of albums sold by a male artist.
- AFP