Jimmie Allen countersues two sexual-assault accusers

Country musician Jimmie Allen stands outdoors in a cowboy hat and a denim-and-flannel jacket

July 13, 2023 6:04 PM PT

Country musician Jimmie Allen is countersuing the two women who accused him of sexual assault and filming them without their consent when they filed separate lawsuits against him this spring.

The “Best Shot” singer is denying all the allegations and countersuing both women, claiming that one of them defamed him and intentionally inflicted emotional distress and that the other illegally swiped his cellphone after consenting to being recorded during their sexual encounter.

In documents filed Thursday in Nashville federal court, Allen, 38, alleges that everything that transpired with both women was consensual and that their allegations caused the once-rising country star to lose “lucrative endorsement deals” and have “several performance contracts canceled,” as well as ultimately being dropped by his record label.

Allen’s countersuit is requesting “reasonable expenses, including attorneys’ fees.” The suit also asks the cases to be heard in a jury trial.

“Allen’s reputation and relationships within the entertainment industry have been severely damaged as a result of Jane Doe’s statements,” the countersuit states.

In a statement to The Times on Thursday, the lead attorney for both women, Elizabeth Fegan, said that Allen’s filings were what they expected, “claims that all his encounters with Jane Doe 1 and Jane Doe 2 were consensual.” The legal team is “eager to show the court abundant evidence to the contrary,” which they are confident will prove that Allen is “a serial abuser and should be held accountable for his actions,” the statement said.

“It is becoming increasingly common for perpetrators to countersue their victims, claiming defamation. This is a concerning trend, one designed to convince victims that if they speak out, they will be the target of spurious litigation.”

In his own statement, Allen commented on the countersuit, telling Billboard that he had filed in order to “protect my reputation and refute these claims that have caused severe damage to my family, mental health, and business.”

“As the son and brother of rape victims, and the father of daughters, these false claims are extremely hurtful to me and everyone around me,” Allen told the outlet. “These false allegations have caused me to lose a vast number of business and endorsement opportunities that I worked extremely hard for. These false allegations have also not only harmed me, but have caused severe financial damage to my band, my team, and their families.”

The fallout

Allen, who auditioned for the 10th season of “American Idol” in 2011 but was cut before the live rounds, has been slowly climbing the country music ladder over the last decade. In 2021 he won the CMA Award for new artist of the year, the second Black artist ever to land the honor.

The country musician’s countersuit states that the allegations against him went public the same day as the 58th Academy of Country Music Awards in Frisco, Texas, “and quickly disseminated throughout music industry executives at the event, as well as social media in general.”

Fallout came swiftly for the Grammy-nominated country musician. He was terminated by his publicist, United Talent Agency severed ties with him and he was removed from the CMA Fest lineup in Nashville. He was also dropped as the commencement speaker at Delaware State University’s graduation ceremony.

Allen’s label, BBR Music Group, suspended the recording artist in response to the initial allegations and ultimately dropped him after the second woman sued him a month later.

In addition to the business fallout, Allen and wife Alexis Gale announced via social media that they were calling it quits after three years of marriage, but also revealed that Gale was pregnant with their third child.

The first lawsuit

The first lawsuit against Allen was brought by his former manager for alleged sexual battery, assault, false imprisonment, sex trafficking and emotional distress, according to legal documents obtained by The Times.

The woman, who asked to remain anonymous because she still works in the music industry, said that while employed by Allen’s management company, Wide Open Music, the country musician raped her, regularly sexually abused her and harassed her for a year and a half.

According to a lawsuit filed May 11 in Tennessee federal court, in which Allen’s former manager is identified as “Jane Doe,” she alleged that in March 2021 she woke up nude in her hotel room, vaginally bleeding and in pain, with no recollection of the previous evening. She alleged that Allen was lying next to her and told her to take a Plan B pill, and that she realized he had taken her virginity against her will.

Jane Doe says in the lawsuit that the abuse escalated after the night in the hotel. She claims that Allen forcibly put his hands down her pants in public and said that as she would drive Allen to and from events, he sexually assaulted her at red lights, in green rooms, on airplanes and other places where she was required to be present.

She also said Allen “raped her in private while choking her” and that he filmed “multiple sexual encounters in order to blackmail her to stay silent.”

In a statement to The Times, Allen denied any wrongdoing and said their relationship was consensual, calling the suit “deeply troubling and hurtful.”

The second lawsuit

The second lawsuit was filed less than a month after the first and alleged that the “Warrior” singer sexually assaulted another woman (identified as Jane Doe 2 in legal documents obtained by The Times) at a Las Vegas hotel last summer and secretly recorded the encounter. She is seeking a judgment against Allen, along with an unspecified amount in monetary damages and legal fees.

Jane Doe 2 alleged that the assault took place in Las Vegas in July 2022. Jane Doe 2 said she was invited to meet Allen in Las Vegas and was assured she would have her own hotel room, per her request. The country musician also introduced her as his girlfriend, and his bodyguard Charles Hurd, who showed her his two firearms and told her he was an air marshal, made her feel safe, she alleged.

When the three of them went to hang out in Allen’s suite at the Cosmopolitan hotel, she was told that her room was being prepared and that Hurd’s room was next door, she says. Hurd then allegedly excused himself, leaving Jane Doe 2 alone with Allen.

According to the legal document, Allen then instructed Jane Doe 2 to wait on the balcony and disappeared into the room, where she assumed he was setting up some kind of romantic surprise. Per the suit, at no point did Allen disclose that he was planning to film their sexual encounter. While Jane Doe 2 said she did consent to sex, she alleged that she repeatedly informed Allen that she was not on birth control and asked him to pull out during intercourse. She said he agreed to do so.

As the sexual encounter transpired, she said, she asked Allen again to pull out but says that he refused, told her he wanted to get her pregnant and ejaculated inside of her against her will. Then he “passed out on the bed,” the lawsuit says.

Jane Doe 2 said she was so distressed that Allen had refused her repeated requests that she got up to leave, desperate to find a separate hotel room and purchase a Plan B pill. As she went to leave, the suit said, she discovered that Allen had set up his cellphone in a closet to record the encounter.

Unable to delete the video from the phone without Allen’s passcode, the lawsuit alleged, she tried but couldn’t wake him. In a panic, she alleged, she took the phone with her and left crying, the suit said. Later, she took Allen’s phone to her local police department and reported the assault and the surreptitious recording.