Garth Brooks Sexual Assault Allegations Timeline

Garth Brooks is being accused of sexual assault and battery by a woman he’s known for 20 years. His story and Jane Roe’s story are different in key, but not necessarily important, ways.

Below is a timeline of Brooks and Roe’s professional relationship, as well as the accusations being brought against him.

It starts in 1999, several years before Brooks married Trisha Yearwood. In fact, he was still married to ex-wife Sandy Mahl at the time, although their union was quickly deteriorating.

Roe says the star began to hire her as his makeup artist more frequently upon learning of her financial struggles, while he says he’d hired her for years by that point.

• On Sept. 13, Brooks filed a preemptive lawsuit using “John Doe” and “Jane Doe.” He was trying to proceed with any subsequent lawsuits involving the two parties under pseudonyms.
• A lawsuit accusing him of sexual assault was filed in California on Oct. 3, using “Jane Roe” as plaintiff and the star’s real name, Garth Brooks, as defendant. The Mississippi claim had not yet been decided at that time.
• On Oct. 8, Brooks filed an amendment, using his real name and hers, asking for a judge to dismiss his original filing.

The last two weeks have been particularly fast-paced, so we’ve spaced out events so you can better understand things like Brooks’ explanation for using his accuser’s real name in a court filing.

This timeline will be updated as new information becomes available, or as more events take place. Brooks says the lawsuit could take two years, so expect many updates.