Jimmie Allen Apologizes to Wife in New Statement, Ignores Sexual Assault Allegations

Jimmie Allen, the country music star whose former manager recently filed a lawsuit against him alleging sexual battery, assault, and false imprisonment, has issued a statement apologizing to his wife. Allen did not address the allegations of the manager, who has chosen to remain anonymous and file as Jane Doe, instead characterizing his relationship with the manager as an “affair.”

“I want to publicly apologize to my wife, Alexis, for humiliating her with my affair,” he wrote in a statement posted to Instagram. “I’m embarrassed that my choices have brought shame on her. … This business takes so much from you. It’s full of temptations that can cripple you and ruin everything you’ve built. I’m ashamed that I wasn’t strong enough to withstand them. I will no longer be a victim of my weaknesses.”

He also wrote that he was working on “becoming a better person that my kids can be proud of.”

A week ago, Doe filed the lawsuit in a Tennessee district court. The plaintiff is characterized as a day-to-day manager who worked with Allen from May 2020 to October 2022. The management company for whom she worked, Wide Open Music, is also a defendant.

She alleged that Allen sexually assaulted her after he made an appearance on American Idol in March 2021; she claims she was unable to give consent since she was incapacitated at the time. “While she only drank a couple of glasses of white wine, Plaintiff does not remember anything after dinner that evening — she lost consciousness and awoke naked in her hotel room several hours later, with Jimmie Allen insisting she take Plan B as soon as possible,” the lawsuit claims. “Disoriented and confused, Plaintiff was bleeding vaginally. Plaintiff felt mortified and humiliated. She realized she had lost her virginity through no choice of her own and felt she had betrayed her faith.”

The plaintiff alleged that Allen assaulted her many times during her time working with him. “When Plaintiff drove Allen to and from events, he sexually abused her at red lights, in green rooms, on airplanes, and in other places she was required to be to support him at events,” the suit claims. “He raped her in private while choking her. He videotaped multiple sexual encounters in order to blackmail her to stay silent.”

Allen denied her claims and responded to them in a statement to Rolling Stone, again characterizing his relationship with Doe as a consensual affair. “I acknowledge that we had a sexual relationship — one that lasted for nearly two years,” he said. “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. 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 simple fact is, her accusations are not only false, but also extremely damaging. I’ve worked incredibly hard to build my career, and I intend to mount a vigorous defense to her claims and take all other legal action necessary to protect my reputation.”

Fallout has come swiftly for Allen since news of the lawsuit broke. His label suspended him and the organizers of CMAFest canceled his upcoming appearance. He had been slated to give a commencement speech at Delaware State University last week but was replaced a day before with Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester.

Allen married his wife, Alexis, in 2020. They separated last month. The couple has two children and are expecting a third.

Read Jimmy Allen’s full statement:

I want to publicly apologize to my wife, Alexis, for humiliating her with my affair. I’m embarrassed that my choices have brought shame on her. That’s something that she did not deserve at all.

I also want to apologize to my children for being a poor example of a man and a father.

I’m working on becoming a better person that my kids can be proud of. My goal is to be better than the generation before me.

This business takes so much from you. It’s full of temptations that can cripple you and ruin everything you’ve built. I’m ashamed that I wasn’t strong enough to withstand them. I will no longer be a victim of my weaknesses.

I challenge everyone to seek help when they need it. Do not be afraid of your weakness, surround yourself with people that WILL help you.

Be Blessed

From Rolling Stone US.