The country star Jimmie Allen is being sued by his former manager for sexual assault.
The woman, known as “Jane Doe”, has alleged that the singer repeatedly raped and harassed her over an 18-month period, referring to it as a “torrential cycle” of abuse. According to Variety, a lawsuit was filed this week in federal court in Tennessee, accusing Allen, 37, of sexual battery, assault, false imprisonment, sex trafficking and emotional distress.
Multiple claims were made in the lawsuit, include the allegation that Allen, a Grammy-nominated singer, raped the woman during a trip to Los Angeles when he filmed a 2021 episode of American Idol as a celebrity guest. The plaintiff claims she woke up in bed after a business dinner, in pain and bleeding, to discover she had lost her virginity without consent.
“I was disconnected from my body, feeling a sense of panic,” she said to Variety.
The woman alleges Allen made it clear that her work contract was dependent on her “staying silent about his conduct”, and that he used his power and influence “to recruit and entice the plaintiff to private locations, including his hotel room, home, car and event locations, where he would perform sex acts”.
In a statement, Allen called the allegations “deeply troubling” and said he was shocked to see them come from one of his “closest friends, colleagues and confidants” , who he said he had a consensual sexual relationship with.
“During that time, she never once accused me of any wrongdoing, and she spoke of our relationship and friendship as being something she wanted to continue indefinitely,” he said. “Only after things ended between us, did she hire a lawyer to reach out and ask for money, which leads me to question her motives.”
The woman’s attorney has contested this, denying that any initial monetary demand was made, and that instead a meeting was requested to discuss the allegations.
“The response was a hard no, and coloured with threats that his team would take steps to publicly tarnish my client,” the rebuttal said. “My client had no choice but to be proactive in protecting herself by filing the complaint.”
Allen first rose to prominence on American Idol in 2011, and has since released hits including Best Shot and Make Me Want To. He became the first Black solo performer to win new male artist of the year at the 2021 Country Music Association awards and was also nominated for a best new artist Grammy. He has also written the children’s book My Voice Is a Trumpet.
He was recently a judge on My Kind of Country, the Reese Witherspoon-produced music competition show for Apple TV+. Allen split from his wife in April.
Jane Doe is also suing her former employer, Wide Open Music, and Ash Bowers, its founder.
“I have to tell this story because there’s no way I would let my daughter near a situation like this,” she said. “My life has been turned inside out because of Jimmie Allen.”
Allen has since been suspended by his record label Stoney Creek Records and dropped from this year’s CMAFest performance lineup.
