The Garth Brooks news is a big disappointment − and an important reminder
It's a hard day for Garth Brooks fans.
After news broke Thursday night that the 62-year-old singer − a household name in country music − has been accused of sexual assault and battery by a former hair and make-up artist, his fans took to social media to express their disappointment.
As one X user put it: "I genuinely do not have the emotional bandwidth to handle the Garth Brooks sexual assault allegation. I feel like my puppy, my momma, and my god have all died, and now I am in mourning. I can't. I just can't."
The pained reactions serve as a stark reminder: Be careful whom you put on a pedestal, especially celebrities. After all, famous people are people too and you don't actually know what they're like behind closed doors.
"These are fallible humans with inevitable flaws and shortcomings, just like the rest of us," Shana Redmond, a professor of English and comparative literature at Columbia University, previously told USA TODAY. "What we see on social media is a small slice of who they are – we can't substitute that glamour for the whole."
Why the news about Garth Brooks, Dave Grohl especially stings
It's not just Brooks' fans who are faced with reassessing their relationship to his music and him as an artist.
Fans of Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl − widely regarded as a friendly dad figure in rock music culture − also got a cold splash of water to the face when they learned he fathered a child outside his 21-year marriage to Jordyn Blum.
Observers of popular culture are used to reading about celebrity scandals. For Grohl and Brooks, however, it's especially tough on fans, because of their previously wholesome public images. Brooks and his wife, country music star Trisha Yearwood, have melted fans' hearts by singing duets together and in recent months, the "Friends in Low Places" singer has gushed over his "sweet" wife.
The lawsuit against Brooks, however, alleges that in 2019 he "seized what he saw as an opportunity to subject a female employee to a side of Brooks that he conceals from the public. This side of Brooks believes he is entitled to sexual gratification when he wants it, and using a female employee to get it, is fair game."
The reactions highlight a trend among music fans: People are simply tired of the disappointment.
"I try very hard not to care too much about celebrities and all that, cause I don't know these people," one X user wrote. "But I cant lie, this Garth Brooks news hurts. His music means alot to me."
More:The Dave Grohl new baby drama is especially disappointing. Here's why.
Experts have previously told USA TODAY it's important to separate someone's art from their character. Just because you like someone's music doesn't mean that artist is a good person.
The same is true of everyone, in every profession.
Still, disappointment is inevitable. Feeling your feelings around news like this is OK, too.
"When (figures) show themselves to be something other than what you imagine, disappointment is expected," Redmond previously told USA TODAY. "And it can happen often as we're constantly inundated with new media meant to hook us and make us fall for someone."
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What is Garth Brooks accused of?
Brooks has been accused of rape and sexual assault by a celebrity hair and makeup artist, referred to as Jane Roe in the suit.
The complaint, filed in a state court in California on Thursday and obtained by USA TODAY, claims the alleged incidents occurred in 2019. The allegations include graphic details of sexual assault, including a rape during a work trip to Los Angeles that left her "physically" and "emotionally injured."
Later Thursday evening, Brooks issued a statement to People magazine maintaining his innocence.
"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," the statement read.
Garth Brooks lawsuit:Country singer accused of raping his former hair-and-makeup artist
In a statement from the accuser's legal team, they "applaud our client's courage in moving forward with her complaints against Garth Brooks."
"The complaint filed today demonstrates that sexual predators exist not only in corporate America, Hollywood and in the rap and rock and roll industries but also in the world of country music," the statement obtained by USA TODAY read. "We encourage others who may have been victimized to contact us as no survivor should suffer in silence."
Contributing: David Oliver and Jay Stahl