The PR Breakdown with Molly McPherson

283: Low Places, High Stakes: Garth Brooks’ PR Crisis Amid Assault Allegations

• Molly McPherson

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In this episode of The PR Breakdown, digging into the PR crisis surrounding country music legend Garth Brooks. Two days before sexual assault allegations against him surfaced, Brooks posted a seemingly wholesome photo with his wife, Trisha Yearwood. Coincidence? 

Maybe not.

Exploring how the couple is strategically handling the allegations in public, breaking down their moves and drawing parallels to familiar PR playbook tactics used by other high-profile figures. With serious accusations brought forward by a former makeup artist, Brooks' legal and PR teams are in full defense mode. The episode sheds light on the strategies of denial, diversion, and discreditation often used in such cases, questioning whether these methods will hold up in today’s environment of increased accountability.

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283: Garth Brooks

Did Garth Brooks post a photo of him walking hand in hand with his wife, Trisha Yearwood, two days before sexual assault allegations against him were made public? Way. Welcome back to the PR breakdown where we go behind the headlines to break down the PR moves. I'm your host Molly McPherson and today we're diving into the unfolding drama surrounding country music superstar Garth Brooks and his wife Trisha Yearwood and the lawsuit that's making headlines.

Last Monday, the photo showing Garth and his wife, Trisha Yearwood, they've been married for about 20 years, was a part of a carousel of other photos, , with Jimmy and Rosalind Carter and their work with Habitat for Humanity. They're not current photos of Jimmy and Rosalind Carter because Rosalind Carter has passed away.

 Jimmy Carter, , just celebrated, , his hundredth birthday. There was some buzz around him on social media because there was a video of him celebrating that birthday with his family. And he looked, every minute of a hundred years old. He's on hospice care, came out in a wheelchair.

And there were some people discussing, how bad he looked, but I follow a number of hospice nurses, who commented on the video and said that it was a wonderful thing. That Jimmy Carter has always talked about the joy of spending time with his family 

 They explained why his body looked how it did because when you're, A hundred years old, your body does start to break down. Now this story, uh, I seem, I seem to have gotten off track with the story. Could that be by design? Could it be because I was distracted? And that is exactly what Garth Brooks, , wants to happen for people when they look at that post to think about Jimmy and Rosalind Carter and anything else other than what he is dealing with.

Because the timing it's. Always the timing. Now, for those of you who did not hear yet, he's been hit with a lawsuit accusing him of sexual assault by a former makeup artist. The woman says she worked as Trisha Yearwood's makeup artist and hairstyles for years, and then she started working for Garth Brooks, in 2017. TMZ, of course, broke the story, but it's People Magazine that is getting all of the public statements. I need to make a disclaimer at this point. I like Garth Brooks. I do. Who doesn't like Garth Brooks?

I've got friends in low places. Who doesn't like that song? Garth Brooks, well respected, well liked, multi platinum country star. He's won several awards in his career. Grammy awards, American music awards, country music awards. But I also like him because he bucks the trend a little. He says fairly courageous things for 

 A guy who is a country singer a lot of his popularity based in Nashville in country music in 1999. That is a long time ago. This is 25 years ago. In an interview with George magazine, that was John F. Kennedy jr's magazine. In an interview he said, quote, but if you're in love, you've got to follow your heart and trust that God will explain to us why we sometimes fall in love with people of the same sex.

That's What a quote for 1999 and for a country singer and the lyrics to a song, we shall be free features the line when we're free to love anyone we choose. And that was in reference to same sex relationships Brooks won a 1993 glad media award for that song. Also, if you remember, The Bud Light brouhaha of last year when Garth Brooks was Talking about the new bar that he was going to be opening soon.

It opened in March of this year It's called friends in low places honky tonk. When people asked him about Bud Light and if he would serve Bud Light , in his new restaurant, he said, quote, everybody's got their opinions, but inclusiveness is always going to be me.

I think diversity is the answer to the problems that are here and the answer to the problems that are coming. Oh, and problems are coming for Garth Brooks. As I mentioned, he's been hit with a lawsuit and it's a pretty significant one. This came out last week, at the beginning of October, I always say we're still in scandal season.

Now the woman behind the allegation said she worked as Trisha Yearwood's makeup artist and hairstylist for years. And then she started working for Yearwood's husband Garth in 2017. These are serious allegations, as soon as I saw the story, I noticed the response.

Because Garth Brooks is not someone you would typically expect to hear would be in a situation like this. So it wasn't, Only the lawsuit that surprised me, but it was noticing how Garth Brooks and Tricia Yearwood are managing the narrative around this lawsuit.

public relations crisis. There is a strategy here and it is a familiar one. If you listen to the episode from last week, you've heard this strategy. So let's break down what happened. just days before the lawsuit became public I mentioned that Garth Brooks posted the photo from St.

Paul, Minnesota, working with Habitat for Humanity, and there's a photo, he's holding hands with his wife, Tricia Yearwood. , they have certainly always been promoted to us as a super couple, like a cute couple, like a homie couple, like a couple that you just believe in.

I mean, listen, listen to Kelly Clarkson explain it.

Happy Thanksgiving, by the way. Thank you very much. I'm going to put my gut hider on. I love it. Thank you very much. Now it's, now it's out. I love you right now. Well, wait, this is all, this is weird. It's like we're related. So wait, what, today is all about gratitude, which I think is perfect for you. We were trying to find, cause we love you on this show.

We've had you on and we're like, what can we do that's like different and special? And 

like, what do you do? Do you go big for Thanksgiving? Your family? Yeah. Well, when you're married to. Well, one of the greatest cooks on the planet. Don't brag about it. Well, I won't. We'll talk about how great of a singer she is next, and then we'll talk about that that's probably five and six on our list of top ten things to do.

Um, but she, uh, I think it's fun. My thing is this, and you guys might feel the same way. When it comes to the future, you know, I think it's, what you're just grateful for is just one more day. Right? Of getting to do this. So, uh, I think that's it. And just, uh, truthfully, if I could say what I'd love to say is, uh, the day I take my last breath on this planet, I'd love for my three girls to be around me.

And I'd love for the queen to be around me. But, uh, as far as Miss Shearwood, um, I don't know. You know, I've said this before. I found her in the past life. I'll find her in the next. She just, it's just, I love her so much. Well, have a great day, everybody. She makes it fun, you know? Yeah, I know. She makes it really fun.

I'm gonna cry at lunch, Garth. Okay, um, so it is amazing though. It's such a beautiful love between the two of you. It is. 

Right? I mean, you're rooting for this couple. You're rooting for them. But when you see the post from Habitat for Humanity, when Garth Brooks at that time knew exactly what was coming, it seems like the perfect setup, right? It kind of screams, we're wholesome, we're good people.

it subtly creates this image of him being above any type of controversy. Just before this lawsuit had Garth Brooks was speaking about Tricia Yearwood, his partner through good and bad times. When did he say that? Just days before these claims came out. And then what happens?

 But then what happens? Boom, the lawsuit hits. 

 I have to say here, this is going to be content warning. I'm going to speak very explicitly about what was alleged in these charges. 

The accuser, who has remained anonymous under the name Jane Rowe claims that Garth raped her back in 2019 during a trip to Vegas. In the lawsuit filed against Brooks last Wednesday, this was on October 3rd, the former hairstylist and makeup artist alleged that Brooks raped her and committed multiple instances of sexual assault, and this happened in 2019, including speaking openly about sex and related fantasies, which included him discussing that He would like to have threesomes with her and his wife, Tricia Yearwood, and he didn't just say that once.

He allegedly said that multiple times. He also changed clothes in her presence, he exposed his genitals, he exposed his buttocks, and he also sent sexually explicit text messages. That's a heavy, heavy allegation. And how did Garth respond in his last Instagram post?

He was performing it was a photo taken from above so you could see all the fans, Garth's hands in the air, and the caption under the photo, If there was ever a night that I really needed this. Tonight, in all caps, was that night. Thank you for my life with one, two, three, four, five bangers. Love, G. And then it's the photos from Habitat for Humanity. So we see some reputation management happening there.

But also he did respond. There's a statement and it's a statement where we see the PR playbook in action. It's Now, while Yearwood, his wife of nearly 20 years, has yet to speak out about any of the allegations,

the woman who sued Brooks did allege that Yearwood did overhear one of the threesome conversations on at least one occasion. The victim also alleges that he used his power as her employer to get the sexual gratification he believes he is entitled to. And that the assault did happen in May of 2019, while on a business trip to Los Angeles.

So Roe called the alleged rape painful and traumatic and said he attempted to rape her once more that October, but had to leave for another engagement. , now Brooks claimed in a statement sent to People Magazine, quote, for the last two months, 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.

It has been like having a loaded gun waved in my face. Hush money, no matter how much or how little is still hush money. In my mind, that means I'm admitting to behavior I am incapable of. Ugly acts no human should ever do to another. 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. I want to play music tonight. I want to continue our good deeds going forward. It breaks my heart 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. What do you think? Does it sound familiar? It is a classic PR crisis move in a statement. Deny, discredit and divert. It is a very, very strong denial. 

He is blaming that victim, implying that she's only out for money. He's calling it extortion, , Roe, the woman behind the allegation, said that Brooke's legal team found out about her plans to sue, which caused him to preemptively file the complaint as John Doe on Friday, September 13th, , claiming that she was a quote line extortionist who intended on destroying his professional reputation.

when you put it together side by side on the timeline, what it comes down to is that Garth Brooks and his team knew that this lawsuit was coming. They tried to counter it with their own lawsuit. One might think that it's like a bully tactic, like a threatening tactic. He said that he didn't want to say his name because he wanted to protect his family.

But I mean, it's pretty safe to assume he also did not want his name out in the public Potentially being extorted because then everyone would ask, well, about what, but she went through with the lawsuit and that's why we see the moves on social media and also in the statement. Now I mentioned last week's episode, Eric Adams, Bill Clinton, Andrew Cuomo, they used the identical formula.

Go ahead and listen to the episode. I put a link in the show notes. All of them talked about how dare someone accuse them of this and how the truth will be found out and all three of them all three of them said Now, let me go back to work and do the work that I need to do for the people of New York City, for the people of the United States, for the people of the state of New York.

It's the same identical formula. It's that it's the diversion in the end that gets me when they all have to get back to work. It's like a dog whistle almost to their fans, to their supporters, to the people who believe in them, the constituents, to support them. Go out on social media. Let the public opinion sway towards us and not against us.

They all use that approach to maintain their image in the face of scandal, deny wrongdoing, question the accuser's motives, and then tell their audience that they just want to get back to work. So following Brooks speaking out, Rose attorney, his name is Douglas H. Wigdor, said this in a statement, quote, we are very confident in our case and over time the public will see his true character rather than his highly curated persona.

Now, here's the thing. The strategy can work or at least it's designed to work  by pushing this narrative. Garth Brooks is hoping to keep his fans on his side. He's trying to create doubt about the accuser's intentions while reinforcing his identity as a musician who just wants to sing and help people.

And a loving, loving husband to his wife, Trisha Yearwood. And we can't prove that he's guilty of the charges, but this statement is written like someone who's trying to manage more than just a legal case. It's about public perception. His language is carefully crafted to evoke sympathy and to build a defense, not just in court, but in the court of public opinion.

And let's not forget about Trisha Yearwood in all of this. Just a day before this lawsuit broke, she sold her Tennessee mansion for over 3 million. The timing, , could it be a coincidence? Well, maybe. I mean, she has been trying to sell it for a while and she lowered the price, but just before all of this hit.

So from a PR standpoint, selling the house while the allegations were still under wraps helps protect their assets and distances them from the inevitable public storm that follows. Tricia, as I mentioned, has not made a public statement and she likely won't, but It's all a part of the plan. You have to keep her out of the spotlight and it minimizes the damage to her brand and it allows Garth Brooks to handle the fallout on his own.

So it is a coordinated effort. What's going on behind the scenes of their marriage? We do not know, but externally about their marriage, we see it in plain sight. So what can we learn from this? Garth Brooks is following a tried and tested PR formula. One used by many people in the public eye when they're facing serious allegations.

But the problem with this playbook is that it often feels But the problem with this playbook is that it often feels Too rehearsed. Too predictable. Like, I could write this. I could predict it. I should start predicting these statements. When you deny everything, blame the accuser, shift the focus to your good work, it can backfire.

So it might rally your hardcore fans. The broader public, however, can likely see through the strategy. Especially when we've seen the same script play out so many times before. But here's the thing, Garth's reputation, but here's the thing, Garth Brooks reputation right now is still largely intact. His fans are loyal, and in these cases, it's all about controlling the narrative for as long as possible.

The question is, will this playbook hold up in today's environment where accountability is being demanded more than ever? And also, When Garth Brooks did take a stand against traditional conservative thinking, that perhaps there are a lot of country stars out there, conservative fans, people who've been turned off by Garth Brooks, are they more likely to go against them now that these allegations are there?

What Garth Brooks needs right now are friends in high places. All right, that's all for today's episode of the PR Breakdown. If you're interested in more breakdowns of celebrity PR moves and crisis management strategies, don't forget to subscribe, leave a review, and perhaps share with a friend who loves getting the inside scoop as well.

And remember, For all my members on Patreon, you can be a member as well. You can head over there for exclusive deep dives into these types of stories. I have weekly lives where the community comes together and we talk about the latest deep dive into a, and we talk about the latest PR crisis this week.

We'll talk about Garth Brooks. Thanks for tuning in and until next time, keep your eyes open for all the stories that go beyond the headlines. Bye for now.

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