What a mess…
Jimmie Allen is currently facing two lawsuits that have been filed against him, containing disturbing allegations of rape, sexual assault, false imprisonment and sex trafficking.
The first lawsuit was filed in the federal court in Tennessee by a woman, identified only as Jane Doe, who used to be a member of Allen’s management team at Wide Open Music. The woman claims that, while she was managing Allen, he repeatedly raped her and subjected her to sexual assault for a period of 18 months.
Allen has denied those allegations, admitting to a consensual sexual relationship with the woman but denying that he assaulted her.
And last month, a second lawsuit was filed by another unnamed woman who alleges that she was randomly approached by Allen on a plane last year, and that the two began engaging in daily communications over the phone. The woman then claims she agreed to meet Allen in Las Vegas, where she was then sexually assaulted.
The woman admits to initially agreeing to have sex with Allen, but only on the condition that he used protection. The lawsuit alleges Allen then penetrated the woman without a condom and told her that he wanted to get her pregnant, and when she told him no, Allen refused and continued to have unprotected sex with the woman despite her repeatedly asking him to stop.
The lawsuit claims that after the alleged assault, the woman noticed Allen’s phone hidden in the closet to record the sexual encounter without her knowledge. The woman then allegedly took the phone and flew home, where she turned the phone in to police and filed a report against Allen.
Publicly, Allen has issued a statement on Instagram apologizing to his wife and children while talking about the “temptations” of the music business, but has denied any claims of sexual assault.
He and his pregnant wife, Alexis Gale, are reportedly working to reconcile, and Allen also responded to the lawsuits by filing counterclaims against his accusers.
Allen sued his former manager for defamation, claiming that the woman made false and malicious statements against him in her lawsuit.
And in the second case involving the woman who alleged she discovered Allen’s phone in the closet recording their encounter, Allen alleges that the woman consented to the recording – and is suing her for taking his phone.
“By taking his camera phone without permission, Jane Doe 2 wrongfully exerted a distinct act of dominion over Allen’s personal property.”
Bold strategy, but I guess we’ll have to see how it plays out…
And now, his accuser has responded in court, stating that the phone was evidence of a crime – and therefore she can’t be sued for taking it to turn into police.
In a response to Allen’s counterclaim, the alleged victim says that she was exercising her rights as a victim of a crime, and Allen can’t then turn around and sue her for taking the phone:
“Plaintiff turned evidence of alleged illegal conduct, i.e., the recording of Plaintiff in a state of undress and of sexual acts without her consent, over to the police to investigate. The law does not condemn victims for doing so.”
Jimmie Allen also issued a statement to Billboard through his attorneys, claiming that the legal process would eventually clear the Grammy-winning singer of wrongdoing:
“We will leave it to the court to determine if taking something without permission is conversion (or stealing) — a lesson that most of us learned when we were young. The facts here don’t support what Jane Doe 2 is claiming, and we look forward to the legal process moving forward and clearing Jimmie’s name.”
I guess we’ll have to wait and see. But seems like he has bigger things to worry about than his phone right now…
Allen has been dropped by his record label, BBR Music Group, and was also removed from the CMA Fest lineup last month after the allegations were first made public.
But now it seems he’s ready to get back out on stage – at the comedy club?
Allen announced a 3-night standup comedy tour, the “I Said What I Said” Comedy Tour, this October. The events will be invite only, and Allen asked fans on Instagram to sign up for the opportunity to get tickets to the shows.
No dates or venues have been announced yet, so I guess we’ll have to wait and see where he’ll be performing.
Gotta say, I didn’t expect this career move from Jimmie Allen, at least not while he’s got quite a few other things to deal with…
