Jimmie Allen has had quite the backslide in the past year as he’s fought serious allegations of sexual assault.
It all started back in May of 2023 when his former manager sued the country artist for sexual assault and sexual battery. Not long after that, his entire world and career fell apart, as he was dropped from his record label, divorced by his wife, welcomed twins with another woman (who was also married), and faced other serious allegations from other women who came out accused him of sexual assault as well.
He has since settled the sexual assault lawsuit, but that didn’t exactly bring him back into the good graces of the music industry. Allen is still trying to put together the pieces, and a recent interview with Kathie Lee Gifford is a step to try and tell his side of the story and revitalize his image.
Gifford admitted as such. The former Today show host, said early on in the interview that her goal with the sit down was to make people “fall in love” again with the country singer. She’s a friend of Allen’s, and that was clear as they worked their way through the conversation.
She inquired about what exactly started to unravel Allen’s career. He responded by saying this:
“I would say… definitely women. But it was searching for instant gratification from women that offered it, even though it was temporary.”
That’s not exactly a surprise answer. Allen was emotional throughout the interview, especially when he spoke on the moment that the allegations came out. He confesses to cheating on his wife, but vehemently denies the allegations of sexual assault. The “Down Home” singer wiped away tears as he discussed how his life came crashing down:
“I remember sitting there and I literally felt like the whole world had just collapsed. Because the first thing my brain goes to is not really my career, but it’s, ‘How am I gonna provide for my kids?’ I had three then, May 11 of 2023. And I’m thinking, ‘How do I provide for my family?’”
He now has six children with three different women, including a set of twins who he had with a longtime fan who was also married at the time of conception.
“I had seen shows canceled, TV shows we were working on get canceled, movie canceled, book deals… I had an ice cream in stores, gone. I had a sneaker deal, gone.”
He was in a dark place, and he unfortunately could only think of one thing that could potentially solve the issue:
“I’m thinking, ‘How am I going to provide for my family?’ And then it hit me. My life insurance covers suicide. And I don’t feel that way now, but in that moment, when you feel like you have nothing… in the midst of a society where it’s no longer innocent until proven guilty. ‘She said this, so it must be true.’”
Jimmie went on to say that he got very close to going through with it. Beforehand, he moved all of the evidence he claimed contradicted all of the sexual assault claims to one phone, and started loading bullets into his gun clip. It was right then when he says he miraculously got a notification that a friend texted him (since he doesn’t ordinarily receive notifications to his phone) and saved his life:
“My friend Chuck text me and he said, ‘Ending it isn’t the answer.’ And when I read those words that he text me, I read ’em again. ‘Ending it isn’t the answer.’ I just stopped. I called one of my buddies and he came up and I gave him my gun, my mom flew in… and I started receiving phone calls from different artists checking in on me. Some of the biggest actors in Hollywood, who I have never met started calling me.
And then as the week went on, there were people that I expected to hear from, and I didn’t. And that’s what hurt.”
He went on to say that one particular artist, who he claims he helped to get a record deal, never contacted him and unfollowed him on social media:
“I remember making calls and getting this artist a record deal. This artist ended up winning CMA Entertainer of the Year. This was someone I thought knew me, because I knew this person before I got a deal, and to not hear from them and to see them automatically unfollow me on Instagram, that’s what hurt. And what I’ve learned is, they might’ve known me, but I didn’t know them. I didn’t think it would hurt as much as it did.”
Not hard to figure out who he’s talking about…
It was a long and emotional conversation, and of course just Jimmie’s side of the story, but you can watch more of it below: