Nashville 'shocked' by Garth Brooks sexual harassment allegations: source

The country scene was completely “shocked” by the allegations Garth Brooksa source tells us exclusively Us weekly.

“People in Nashville are having a hard time coming to terms with the allegations,” says the insider Us weekly. “He was the last person in country music that people would think was behaving sexually inappropriately.”

Brooks, 62, was named in a lawsuit filed Thursday, Oct. 3, in which an anonymous woman named Jane Roe claimed the country singer raped her in 2019. In court documents obtained from UsRoe also alleged that Brooks sent her sexually explicit text messages, repeatedly exposed his genitals in her presence and made “repeated comments” about having “a threesome” with her Trisha Yearwood. (Brooks and Yearwood have been married since 2005 after their respective divorces.)

Brooks denied Roe's allegations, while Yearwood, 60, has yet to address the scandal.

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“Trisha and Garth always seem so in love when they're together,” the insider notes. “He looks at her like he loves the ground she walks on. They always hold hands and act like a loving team.”

Days before Roe's lawsuit, Brooks and Yearwood shared matching Instagram photos from their September concert in Las Vegas. Because the country couple is so popular in Nashville – the source points out that Brooks and Yearwood are often referred to as the “King and Queen of Nashville” – the allegations seemed to come as a complete surprise to locals.

“Garth always remembers the name of everyone he works with and most everyone he interacts with,” says the insider Us. “Garth makes it a point to introduce himself to everyone he can when he enters an arena. He makes friends with people at all professional levels, he’s friendly to everyone.”

The source further claims that Brooks often sends “gifts to his superfans on their birthdays” and flowers to hospitals when his co-workers have a sick relative.

“Garth will see this person a year later with the sick relative, remember it and ask how they are doing,” the insider adds. “Garth also remembers the names of all the local radio presenters and local press. He works really hard to make everyone feel special.”

In addition to denying the claims, Brooks also filed an anonymous response to Roe's lawsuit in an attempt to stop the hairdresser from circulating her account.

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“For the past two months, I have been endlessly plagued with threats, lies and tragic stories about what my future would be if I did not write a multi-million dollar check. “It was like a loaded gun was being pointed at my face,” Brooks said Us in a statement on Thursday. “Hush money, no matter how much or how little, is still hush money. For me, that means admitting to behavior that I am incapable of – ugly acts that no human being should ever do to another.”

He added: “We filed a lawsuit against this person almost a month ago to speak out against extortion and defamation of reputation.” In the interest of the families of both sides, we filed the complaint anonymously. … I want to continue our good deeds in the future. It breaks my heart that these wonderful things are now being called into question. I trust the system, I’m not afraid of the truth and I’m not the man they made me out to be.”

A lawyer for Roe has since denied Brooks' claims.

“I can't get involved in settlement discussions, but Brooks' claim that he's unwilling to pay millions is simply not true,” the attorney said Douglas H. Wigdor told Us in a statement on Friday, October 4. “It appears Sean Combs and Garth Brooks are using the same PR team by attacking legitimate victims.”

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Wigdor was also represented Cassie (real name Casandra Ventura) when she sued Sean “Diddy” Combs in 2023 for repeated sexual assault and abuse. Diddy, 54, vehemently denied the allegations before he and Cassie, 37, settled out of court within a day. Diddy has since been arrested in New York on charges of sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and solicitation for prostitution.

Diddy pleaded not guilty to the charge before a judge denied him bail. He was held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn until his trial.

“We are disappointed by the decision to pursue what we believe to be an unjustified prosecution of Mr. Combs by the U.S. Attorney’s Office,” Diddy’s attorney said Marc Agnifilo told Us weekly in a statement. “Sean 'Diddy' Combs is a music icon, self-made entrepreneur, loving family man and proven philanthropist who has spent the last 30 years building an empire, idolizing his children and working to strengthen the black community.”

Agnifilo added: “He is an imperfect human being, but he is not a criminal. To Mr. Combs's credit, he has been extremely cooperative in this investigation and voluntarily moved to New York last week in anticipation of this indictment. Please reserve judgment until you have all the facts. These are the actions of an innocent man with nothing to hide and he looks forward to clearing his name in court.”

It is unknown if Brooks or Diddy are related. Us I asked for a comment.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

With reporting by Travis Cronin