Garth Brooks Assault Allegations: ‘Even People That Don’t Like Him Were Shocked,’ Source Says (Exclusive)

The country music community apparently wasn’t expecting the sexual assault and battery allegations against Garth Brooks.

On Oct. 3, the “Friends in Low Places” singer, 62, was sued by his former hairstylist and makeup artist under the name “Jane Roe,” who claimed Brooks behaved inappropriately and raped her while they worked together.

He’s since denied the claims and filed two complaints against Roe on Oct. 8, but a country music insider tells PEOPLE the whole ordeal has taken Nashville by surprise.

“Everybody is shocked,” says the source. “Even people that don’t like him were shocked.”

Brooks filed two complaints against Roe in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi earlier this week. According to documents obtained by PEOPLE, the “Callin’ Baton Rouge” performer named the accuser while referring to her suit as an “extortion” attempt.

His legal team stated their objective with the filings is “to obtain relief” from the defendant’s “ongoing attempted extortion, defamation, false light invasion of privacy, and intentional infliction of emotional distress through outrageous conduct.”

In one of the filings, lawyers for the Grammy winner also claimed the “false” allegations “would irreparably harm Plaintiff’s reputation, family, career and livelihood.”

Upon news of Brooks filing his complaints, Roe’s legal team, Douglas H. Wigdor (Founding Partner Wigdor LLP), Jeanne M. Christensen (Partner Wigdor LLP) and Hayley Baker (HB Advocates PLLC) replied in a statement obtained by PEOPLE.

“Garth Brooks just revealed his true self,” they wrote. “With no legal justification, Brooks outed her because he thinks the laws don’t apply to him. On behalf of our client, we will be moving for maximum sanctions against him immediately.”

Prior to Roe’s claims going public, Brooks originally filed a lawsuit against her under the name “John Doe.” On Oct. 8, he submitted court documents saying that he would “re-file his [original] complaint without pseudonyms” against “Jane Roe” and claimed her attorneys “disclosed” his identity to the media. 

Roe alleged in her lawsuit that Brooks exposed his genitals to her, spoke openly about sex and sexual fantasies, changed clothes in her presence and sent sexually explicit text messages to her in 2019. She also claimed he raped her in a hotel suite and asked her to have “a threesome” with wife Trisha Yearwood, per the documents.  

In a statement to PEOPLE, Brooks denied the allegations and claimed he’s “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.”

“Hush money, no matter how much or how little, is still hush money. In my mind, that means I am admitting to behavior I am incapable of—ugly acts no human should ever do to another,” continued his statement. “We filed suit against this person nearly a month ago to speak out against extortion and defamation of character. We filed it anonymously for the sake of families on both sides.”

Brooks added, “I want to play music… I want to continue our good deeds going forward. It breaks my heart [that] these wonderful things are in question now. I trust the system, I do not fear the truth, and I am not the man they have painted me to be.”

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.