NO HOLDS BARRED AS GARTH BATTLES RAPE ACCUSER

Good Guy image is going to take a vicious beating

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COUNTRY music's Mr. Nice Guy Garth Brooks is turning nasty under the pressure of shocking rape allegations and is now being slammed in the court of public opinion for publicly identifying his accuser! The 62-year-old Friends in Low Places singer put the Mississippi woman right in the crosshairs of his rabid fan base by filing a lawsuit in federal court accusing her of "intentional infliction of emotional distress, defamation, and false light invasion of privacy."

Brooks' legal salvo comes just days after she walloped him with an explosive lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court using the fictitious name Jane Roe.

A source close to Garth tells The National ENQUIRER the superstar is playing a "dangerous game" in trying to protect his reputation.