Jimmie Allen Accusations Exacerbate Country’s Diversity Dilemma
Aside from an unequivocal exoneration that feels very unlikely at this point, the mainstream country music career of Jimmie Allen is over. It’s not just the severity of the accusations against him from his day-to-day manager of prolonged sexual assault, rape, and harassment that were detailed in a Variety exposé, it is the specificity and details of the accusations that feel so damming, including a verified trip to the hospital by the victim, along with text messages, tour itineraries, and other information that corroborates her claims.
Jimmie Allen is still innocent until he’s proven guilty. And so far, there haven’t been any criminal charges brought against him, at least that have been made public. There are only the implications of a civil suit. Interestingly though, no counter-suit has taken shape yet against the plaintiff, which commonly proceeds pleads of innocence by the accused.
Irrespective of the legal outcomes, Jimmie Allen will no longer be a participant in the mainstream country industry, or at least not at the level that he was before. This has major implications on country music as it continues to face criticism for a lack of diversity. Even though Jimmie Allen was very much part of the gaggle of major label-signed male performers that no matter what song they released to country radio it ultimately went #1, Jimmie Allen was unique because he was Black, and gave country music a jolt of diversity that some have been clamoring for in country music.
Jimmie Allen was not a major headliner, but he was a serious player in country music that the industry had invested in heavily and cultivated over the last few years. The country music industry saw Allen as one of the genre’s brightest stars heading into the future. This is the reason the ACM Awards named him the 2021 New Male Artist of the Year—the first ever Black man to win the award. The CMA Awards also named Allen Artist of the Year in 2021. Darius Rucker received the distinction back in 2009.
These awards are a major achievement, and often a harbinger for success in the coming years. Other recent CMA New Artist of the Year winners include Luke Combs and Morgan Wallen—arguably the genre’s two biggest stars. Lainey Wilson won the award in 2022. New Artist of the Year awards are an investment in the career of these individuals. So are other opportunities such as awards show appearances, which Jimmie Allen was afforded on numerous occasions. Allen even co-hosted the 2022 ACM Awards with Dolly Parton.
Jimmie Allen was also given big opening opportunities on tour with Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood, along important festival appearances. Allen regularly appeared on the Grand Ole Opry, and was rumored to be in line for Opry membership in the coming years. And for all of those investments into Jimmie Allen to mint him as one of mainstream country’s top rising performers, there will be no returns. Those awards, those opportunities that were supposed to go to an artist that would spend the next decade or two at the top of the genre are all now for naught.
On country radio, Jimmie Allen’s first three major radio singles all went to #1, and the fourth went to #2. Before the allegations, if Jimmie Allen released a radio single, it was going to hit #1 or #2, because that’s how the mainstream country radio system works. Obviously, radio has now abandoned Jimmie Allen, just like his label, his management, his booking, and every other major representative.
For a lot of traditional country fans, this is not bad news. Jimmie Allen was never considered a “country” artist to them in the first place, drawing apt comparisons with Sam Hunt and Thomas Rhett as a more R&B-style mainstream Music Row artist. His absence will not be lamented by these fans, it will be celebrated, if not met with the common brush off of “Jimmie who?”
But the departure of Jimmie Allen will cause a deeper dilemma for the mainstream country industry, and one that won’t be enumerated when the studies, think pieces, and political actions clamoring for more inclusiveness in country music get written and launched.
Always treated like a monolith, “country music” won’t get credit for Jimmie Allen’s numerous trophies, multiple #1’s, and the other opportunities he was bestowed. Country will only get credit for the lack of these things moving forward as the hole left from Allen’s departure persists and elongates due to the time, resources, and opportunities it takes to cultivate a top flight career like the one Allen enjoyed.
Jimmie Allen has often been favored over his Black counterparts in the mainstream. For example, in the Amazon documentary For Love and Country, Jimmie Allen was one of the central characters while Kane Brown was only mentioned once in passing, and Darius Rucker was absent entirely. In fact, the film falsely credited Jimmie Allen for being the first Black country artist to have his debut single go #1 when Darius Rucker had achieved this honor a decade before.
Allen wasn’t a victim of country music’s lack of inclusion. He was arguably a benefactor of it since radio, awards shows, and his label were incentivized to push him to the forefront, and unfortunately, often over Black country artists that that are actually country. Jimmie Allen’s radio singles outperformed themselves on country radio in comparison to the consumption-based Hot Country Songs chart as country radio worked to push them to #1.
“Best Shot” – 2018 – #1 on on Radio – #5 on Hot Country Songs
“Make Me Want To” – 2019 – #1 on Radio – #7 on Hot Country Songs
“Freedom Was a Highway” – 2021 – #1 on Radio – #5 on Hot Country Songs
“Down Home – 2022 – #2 on Radio – #16 on Hot Country Songs
But when the studies come out complaining about country music’s lack of diversity like a recent one published via Pudding, they won’t cite Jimmie Allen and the reason for his absence as a significant factor as to why so few Black artists are being played on country radio. In fact, the hole Jimmy Allen’s absence will create will likely make country radio’s grade worse in future metrics, at least in the near future, creating a false positive that country music’s support for Black performers is worsening.
It’s similar to how Taylor Swift’s departure to pop in 2014 both coincided and exacerbated country music’s gender imbalance during the onset of Bro-Country. Swift was not only a CMA New Artist of the Year winner in 2007 (called the Horizon Award at the time), she was a two-time CMA Entertainer of the Year. Taylor Swift was the biggest artist in all of country music when she left, and her departure left a gaping hole for the genre to fill.
Of course, if country music had a more diversified field of performers, this wouldn’t be as big of a concern. But it doesn’t take away that when it comes to Black performers in the country mainstream, Jimmie Allen was the biggest, and his absence will cause reverberations in the country music talent pool for years to come. In this instance, it is not the fault of “country music” specifically. On the contrary, the industry rose up to embrace Jimmie Allen’s career. And now it has little or nothing to show for it moving forward.
June 2, 2023 @ 8:45 am
I’m not convinced that he won’t be able to get back to where he was prior to the accusations if (as I expect) he is cleared of sexual assault. What else is left to damage him, cheating on his wife? The music industry would be a very quiet place if everyone that cheats gets cancelled!
June 2, 2023 @ 9:49 am
You’d think conservative Christian country fans would care more about infidelity than drag backup dancers, but alas.
June 2, 2023 @ 4:08 pm
This comment’s own level of sanctimony is equally impressive.
June 4, 2023 @ 5:48 am
So tired of colors, nationalities brought up in everything. “Stop” and everyone to relax and just enjoy people no matter nationality for who they are. Yes country and all song dress style makes a difference, has its look different dress style that country is country, rock, etc.. has it’s look style. That is my issue is dressing not nationalities.
June 3, 2023 @ 8:01 pm
Who’s trying to promote infidelity or make it acceptable and normal?
June 2, 2023 @ 10:00 am
If you believe that Jimmie Allen is completely innocent, a good test case of how this might transpire is Kesha vs. Dr. Luke, which has been going on for a decade. Unlike Jimmie Allen’s accuser, there is no physical evidence against Dr. Luke. Unlike Jimmie Allen, Dr. Luke filed a countersuit almost immediately for defamation. Since then, Dr. Luke has won virtually every court decision as the two lawsuits have moved forward. Kesha has been proven to have lied to the court, to have lied to Lady Gaga, and to have lied about Katy Perry. The court has also rejected a lot of Kesha’s claims, and she has been forced to drop elements of her lawsuit because they were proven to be unfounded.
Still, Dr. Luke’s name is mud in the music industry. Few artists will work with him, and the ones that do get criticized for it. Awards won’t go near him for the ridicule it will create. There is a good chance when the trial finally starts in July that Dr. Luke will be completely exonerated, and ultimately, win his countersuit against Kesha. And still, his career has been irreparably harmed by the accusations, and many will still believe Kesha no matter what the outcome is.
This will not just go away for Jimmie Allen, and his strategy to just downplay this as “yeah, I was cheating on my wife, but that’s it” is not going to fly. Even if he is 100% exonerated, the stench will remain, fair or not. If he is 100% innocent, I feel sorry for him. But this is the world we live in.
June 4, 2023 @ 12:18 am
uh no there’s ZERO proof she’s lied about this, spare me the Dr Luke asskissing.
June 4, 2023 @ 7:44 am
There is zero proof that Kesha lied about Dr. Luke allegedly raping her. There is 100% proof that Kesha defamed Dr. Luke when speaking to Lady Gaga. There is also 100% proof that when Kesha said that Dr. Luke raped Katy Perry, and when asked, Katy Perry would confirm it, that Kesha was lying as well. These things have been found by a court of law.
June 12, 2023 @ 4:53 am
Jimmie Allen was a well balanced
entertainer. It’s a shame if the accusations are true.
June 4, 2023 @ 5:19 am
Why would any person of breeding and taste wish to be a rural yodeller?
June 5, 2023 @ 12:38 pm
For the chicks.
June 4, 2023 @ 12:23 pm
He’s hardly washed up though. Maybe not the same level of hot anymore as when Katy Perry got a half-dozen #1’s from one album working with him, but thanks to “Big Energy,” “Super Freaky Girl” and most of Doja Cat’s hits, he’s still raking in the dough.
June 2, 2023 @ 8:56 am
Who? Says everyone five years from now.
June 3, 2023 @ 5:28 pm
It sounds to me you have a lot of inside story and you already put the bottle cap in the water bottle. My thought is that it will be all told soon the real truth. Let the case come and the evidence come and we will all see who is lying including those who put her up to tell this. Hatred greedy people can be dispose of at the end of the day. Lastly if I was you I wouldn’t point a finger because what goes around comes around.
June 4, 2023 @ 5:53 am
He never once pointed the finger he only used another case to make a point. The problem is idiots like you who can’t read make up most juries.
June 2, 2023 @ 9:04 am
Race bait again. Go to a rap/r&b/soul/hiphop show and the crowd will be just as white as it is black. Go to a country show and its nowhere near the same. The conversation needs to be why do white people support black artists while black people hardly support white artist.
Same thing when it comes to the NFL or NBA. The players are supported overwhelmingly by white fans in the stands. Go to a Crossfit competition and the crowd is the same. Where is the support for the mostly white athletes from the black community.
Unity and community is a two way street.
June 2, 2023 @ 9:15 am
lmao.
June 2, 2023 @ 9:51 am
lmao.
June 2, 2023 @ 10:23 am
Brad,
I kindly ask you, and everyone liking your comment, to stop doing this. It’s embarrassing. The Communist doesn’t want “community” with you. You have 3 choices as far as the Communist is concerned: compliance, imprisonment, or death. You and your beliefs are not welcome in his world.
Do you think the Communist can’t read? Do you think he doesn’t know all the statistics? Brad, he knows. Trust me, he knows as much or more than you do.
The lies are the point. The chaos is the point. The destruction, degradation, and division are the points.
June 2, 2023 @ 10:54 am
You got me back. Damn it!!! F those commie bastards Honky.
June 2, 2023 @ 11:15 am
I don’t know what you mean when you say I got you back; I wasn’t trying to get you back for anything.
I just want everyone to understand that what we’re dealing with won’t be reasoned with. It’s not like, if you just explain things clearly, then they’ll stop.
The things you view as problems, they view as opportunities. When you speak of unity, they see you as a weakling and a sucker.
June 2, 2023 @ 11:01 am
do you even write these anymore or do you just put ‘communist’ ‘rant’ ‘dumb’ into one of those AI bots?
June 2, 2023 @ 11:24 am
Can you all please find the Uncouth Jester and bring him back on here? If we must have Communists on SCM, I would prefer ones with real wit. This crap right here is so lame.
June 2, 2023 @ 12:00 pm
lame? oof. coming from the world’s most handsome man, that really stings.
btw, i tried to put it into AI out of curiosity, and lemme tell ya, way more coherent. believe it or not, it actually knew how to use the word ‘communism’ correctly.
June 2, 2023 @ 3:28 pm
I love seeing how far you have to stretch to include communists into so many conversations on a website about country music and then put everyone else down that disagrees and cite their lack of intelligence when you do. I only wish that others did not reply because this stuff sucks so bad for the vast majority of folks that want to read other’s applicable ideas about the subject matter at hand.
June 2, 2023 @ 6:21 pm
Will you please just Shut. The. Fuck. Up? You are hilariously sad. You honestly think that because you read some shit and can say things like “midwits” and “the Communists” that you have some grand insight. Plus, you are so at the mercy of your mythical beliefs, you think you are doing your God’s work. You and your minions truly frighten me. Please believe whatever you like. We don’t care. But as soon as you want/try to create a theocracy and allow your beliefs to impact on others freedoms, you can fuck off. You can be as disgusted as you like by non-whites, non-straights, the non-patriarchal, the trans-gendered, non-Christians, etc. We do not care. But when you want to deny others the right to live equally, you can fuck off. You are some scary muthas.
June 3, 2023 @ 11:21 am
Douglas,
Don’t be silly; you love theocracies infinitely more than I do, especially the one we live in right now. What you don’t like, are theocracies on the basis of a religion other than your own.
I call people midwits because they act like midwits. People who aren’t as genetically dumb as Countryfan68, but are still really misinformed and call anything outside the norm a conspiracy theory, are midwits. People who repeat phrases like, “That could never happen here.” are midwits. People who put their heads in the sand and refuse to accept reality, are midwits.
June 3, 2023 @ 11:35 am
….”lame? oof. coming from the world’s most handsome man, that really stings.”…..
See, this is what I’m talking about. This person not only thinks I was speaking directly to him (I wasn’t; I was speaking to all readers about him.), but also that I used the word “lame” to insult him. This individual tries so hard to be a witty roaster of right-wingers, but everything he says is so freaking lame. That’s not an insult; it’s just a description. If someone is going to roast or insult me, I want to be impressed by it.
June 5, 2023 @ 6:07 am
a comment replying to and addressing the content of the previous comment is not speaking directly to it? complaining about how unimpressive your own insult is while doubling down on it? fascinating!
June 3, 2023 @ 6:31 am
Doug,
Are you saying he should think what he wants but “shut the fuck up” and keep it to himself because you have some special say in the matter? Why do you think you should have that clout? You don’t speak for me… I want to hear what he has to say….and so do many others. Only people with your views should talk and not “shut the fuck up?” Funny…I don’t see Honkey ever telling people to shut up. Do you see the irony here, by chance? Also, I rarely see you or Gentile reply to the story itself, at all. Mostly what you two do is try to police and make fun of Honkey or CK. Why is that? You don’t have anything to say about this story? Nothing to add to the conversation? What does this policing do for you? Are you patting yourself on the back for being a ‘resistor?” I’m curious what you guys think about a lot of these stories. In this case, what do you think about Jimmie Allen being used as a pawn, or a token, in the name of equity? Any comment on anything that Trigger wrote?? I’m genuinely curious what you think. But you’re more obsessed with policing an anonymous commentator, as if you have some sort of self-appointed moral authority.
June 3, 2023 @ 9:35 am
Jake, I’ll bite. I’m certain you know I do not mean ‘’shut the fuck up’’ literally. Clearly hyperbole. He can post all the nonsense he wants. In my opinion, obviously, it got old a long time ago. The same spiel over and over, as if he is going to have some effect. So ‘’shut the fuck up’’ means I, and likely others, don’t want to hear it any more. Believe what you like, but when you want to take away others freedom to live peacefully, that’s a red line. I thought conservatives were all about freedom? Regarding the rest, my thoughts on articles rarely are strong enough that I feel the need to comment. I have, but it’s rare. I don’t think I have a ‘‘self appointed moral authority.’’ I simply have to challenge things that I truly believe are harmful. Yesterday at lunch, I do it in ‘’real life’’ also. In retrospect, the nutters on this site are doing the same. So I guess we are all alike in that regard. I guess I could pose all the same questions to you that you posed to me. Do you see the irony in your policing me? Why do you care enough to post such a lengthy query? Again, we’re all the same in that regard. I’m not perfect. None of us are. I can also be a hypocrite. We all can. I just do what is right in my mind, as we all do. Obviously we don’t all agree on what is right. It’s been that way forever. I hope I answered to your satisfaction.
June 3, 2023 @ 11:09 am
Ok I think I got it now. You speak in hyperbole. You admit to doing the same thing “the nutters” do. You don’t have enough of an opinion about the articles on this site – you come here just for Honkey and his band of nutters. You think that out of my last 20-30 comments on this site, one being directed at you is similar to your obsession with policing Honkey. I would say you more than answered to my satisfaction. Thanks.
June 3, 2023 @ 11:41 am
Hahahaha! Victory for Jake Cutter. I meant that your single query of me was no different than the query of the head nutter you referred to. But you knew that. I tell you what, I will stop clicking on SCM. I don’t like country music. I like good music. Other than my family, music is truly what keeps me going. As I’ve commented before, my wife and I are likely the only people that saw Charley Crockett on Tuesday and Soccer Mommy the following Tuesday. Few peoples playlists and segues are as varied as mine. You are right. This site isn’t for me. I could give a shit about most of the articles, but I did enjoy bantering with nutters and trying to get Kyle to realize his site is associated with them. Time to move on.
June 3, 2023 @ 3:12 pm
See you, Doug. Nothing of value will be lost if you decide to leave.
June 3, 2023 @ 3:15 pm
Bullshit, CountryKnight. Everyone’s opinion is valued and welcomed here.
June 3, 2023 @ 8:04 am
Huh?
June 3, 2023 @ 10:20 am
I don’t think “communist” means what you think it does.
June 4, 2023 @ 10:53 am
Honky,
What are you smoking? You make no sense. Go away.
June 2, 2023 @ 7:37 pm
The vast majority of people will not turn down socially beneficial victim clout. A core example of your point is how black people have never and will never protest white people wrongly shot by the cops.
I laugh at the outrage at the “communist” label. Like anyone right of center hasn’t been called a racist/homophobe/etc for the past 15 years over the slightest ideological difference.
June 3, 2023 @ 7:21 pm
I would love to stand corrected and see one black 20-something blaring Alan Jackson while at a stoplight. (Instead of this terrible modern rap that sounds like a mentally challenged person trying to auction off percoset and get his dick sucked)
June 4, 2023 @ 12:04 am
There is no diversity in black, Asian or Hispanic music or in minority TV programs. The guise is to slowly push Whites out of all things.
June 4, 2023 @ 7:45 am
That’s not really true.
June 4, 2023 @ 5:43 am
Girl, please…
June 4, 2023 @ 10:16 am
Yt people have the money. Just speaking facts. We go to work everyday.
June 9, 2023 @ 2:32 pm
You already have him convicted and guilty until it is proven otherwise he is innocent and you will see country fans will support him he is not the only person who had a affair his concerts were sold out people bought his music clothes books he isn’t done the kindness he showed to his fans will return back to him he isn’t finished fans love him
June 10, 2023 @ 12:31 am
Cleary have no idea what you are talking about. Rap/r&b/ for decades has been a lot me raly diverse then country music and I was balck consumes, lack producers/writers bkack networks l8e BET ha launched Eminem, Justin Timberlake, Macklemore, Robin Thicke, Justin Bieber, Sam Smith, Iggy, Bad Bunny, Iisa Stansfield, Tina Marie, DJ Kaled, etc. sote r&/rap industry is a lot more diverse tendo7ntey has ever black consumers have always supported Whjte Siri it’s in the genre.
June 2, 2023 @ 9:14 am
All due respect, this reads really weird to me. If the accusations end up being true (which seems probable), and women were abused and worse….the real tragedy here is that “country” music has a little less forced diversity? We will have to be aware of (but not read) whiny articles from activist losers that most of us have written off a long time ago? I think we might survive this one.
June 2, 2023 @ 10:15 am
Obviously, the biggest tragedy here if the accusations are true is that a woman was raped and sexually assaulted by a man in the country music industry that used his position of power over her to keep her silent as the abuse persisted. But all of this goes without saying, though I have said it in two separate articles previously.
I understand that you personally may not particularly care about “whiny articles from activist losers.” But that doesn’t mean that the HR departments for all of country music’s major and independent labels, radio conglomerates, management and publicity houses, along with organizations such as the CMA, ACM, LiveNation, and others aren’t adhering to DEI instruction to insulate themselves from public criticism and civil litigation as a financial indemnity.
The reason Morgan Wallen’s ‘N’ word incident continues to be leveraged by journalists and activists is because it’s a way to usurp power and money from country music’s institutions through organizations like the Black Music Action Coalition. The same goes for the accusations against “country music” for its lack of diversity. They will exploit Jimmie Allen’s career implosion to say that country music is becoming less accommodating to Black artists as the hole left by Jimmie Allen elongates, when in reality, it was Jimmie Allen’s own actions that caused this issue.
I understand that some fans may not give a shit about any of this. But as a website called “Saving Country Music,” I see it as imperative that I address these issues, and pragmatically, to insulated “country music” from unfair criticism. “Country music” did everything it could to push Jimmie Allen to the front of the class. Jimmie Allen is to blame for that not working out, and robbing other artists—including some that were arguably more deserving, and more country—of those opportunities.
June 2, 2023 @ 12:18 pm
That’s why I said the way “THIS reads.” Interesting point about the DEI push. Too bad that wasn’t part of your article. Maybe the CEI system is the real underlying story here.
June 2, 2023 @ 4:12 pm
And the funding behind it and other horsesh*t indices.
How do you save country music when powerful forces want to exterminate the very concept of “country” as anything other than a depopulated and subservient vassal state?
June 3, 2023 @ 5:46 pm
You are condemning him so you must be part of this madness to shut him down. As I know Jimmy is not the only one in country music who has been accused of rapping a female. There so much I want to say to you but I have to be patient and wait on just he evidence.
June 4, 2023 @ 12:19 am
or maybe just maybe it’s a reflection of how country music in general does not seem to care much about minorities?
June 4, 2023 @ 11:10 am
No, you really don’t need to bring it up and I don’t know that HR departments are too concerned about the same thing you seem to be. What journalist is still referencing Morgan’s, quoting of a rap lyric that happened to have have the n-word, which by the way, happened to be the biggest career boosting event in the music industry in the last 10 years, if not 20. Those journalists are tired retreads, who have nothing better to write about and want to stir shit up. Fortunately you have all kinds of things you can write about regarding country music, that are not catering to the whiny people who are not even country music fans. Screw them Trigger. Country music will continue to thrive, with or without, some of these ridiculous whiners trying to keep this topic alive.
P.S. I hope Jimmie is innocent. While not really a true country artist, I do enjoy some of his tunes and he “seemed” like a decent dude.
June 2, 2023 @ 9:58 am
Diversity is the virtue of a dying culture.
June 2, 2023 @ 10:03 am
“It’s not just the severity of the accusations against him from his day-to-day manager of prolonged sexual assault, rape, and harassment that were detailed in a Variety exposé, it is the specificity and details of the accusations that feel so damming, including a verified trip to the hospital by the victim, along with text messages, tour itineraries, and other information that corroborates her claims.”
There is a qualifier in this statement.
Going to help you out on your journalistic maneuvering.
The qualifying word in this statement is prolonged.
As in, prolonged.
As in, this chic was in him to win him.
When it did not work out for her, and he did not leave his wife, she now is after him for the big bucks.
She’s going to get paid, one way or the other.
June 2, 2023 @ 11:00 am
Di,
You’re referring to the alleged victim as a “chic,” “gold digger” and a “whore” as you have done in previous comments despite her claim that she lost her virginity to Jimmie Allen when he raped her really illustrates the unhinged and seething contempt you have for this woman you don’t even know the name of, let alone the circumstances of her accusations. Not even Jimmie Allen is claiming this woman was in love with him, and when he wouldn’t break his marriage off, she started making accusations.
There is no journalist maneuvering here. According to the victim, the reason the abuse was “prolonged” is because Jimmie Allen held blackmail over her. The other reason that comes up over, and over, and over, whether it’s with this victim, or previous victims including the accounts of numerous individuals against disgraced publicist Kirt Webster that I have reported on directly is that they have a dream of working in the music industry. And if they come out about the abuse, that dream dies. This is the leverage these powerful people exploit over their victims, and it comes up time and time again.
June 2, 2023 @ 1:12 pm
“…really illustrates the unhinged and seething contempt you have for this woman …”
Trigger,
You are attributing emotions in an irresponsible way.
Unhinged and seething contempt are two powerful phrasings that you are falsely attributing to a comment.
Have no seething contempt for the accuser.
Neither am I making unhinged comments.
It is your continued seething contempt for a commenter, and unhinged accusations from time to time, in your desire to chase a commenter off your forum.
Because I challenge you when your statements and narrative(s) at times, could use a different perspective, is not a reason to falsely attribute certain words, emotions, and statements.
This is an extremely important discussion of which there are two different sides to be told.
Two adults, both of which were clearly consenting at certain times, need to come clean with what actually happened.
There is more to this story than what your narrative claims.
June 11, 2023 @ 12:27 am
Obviously something happened. Strange that she was a virgin and he allegedly raped her, that’s new. What was he blackmailing a young, innocent virgin fo, that she would allow him to “rape”, not “coerced sex” on a prolonged basis? And what changed that made her decide to speak up now? So many groupies, wonder they ever need to force someone but this isn’t the first time we’ve heard this and sadly, it won’t be the last time.
June 2, 2023 @ 6:36 pm
It is sad for when a man is anti-women, meaning that an “ungodly” woman is a temptress, so men cannot be blamed for succumbing to their “god-given” desire to procreate. But when a woman expresses the same disgusting nonsense, it is beyond sad.
June 2, 2023 @ 10:16 am
This phrase “diversity”, as it is being used by mass culture today, all it does is reduce us all to mere ingredients, rather than looking at us as unique individuals. So many white people in the country music industry feels a sense of pride in promoting Jimmie Allen, Kane Brown, et al, as if the latters only function is to make their industry more “diverse”
June 2, 2023 @ 10:40 am
Blacks have R&B, soul, blues, jazz and rap. What is wrong with C&W continuing to be mainly white?
And – he is not innocent until proven guilty. he’s presumed innocent – very often a legal fiction.
June 2, 2023 @ 10:40 am
“And so far, there haven’t been any criminal charges brought against him, at least that have been made public.”
The arrest and arratingment of someone on criminal charges in this country against anyone over 21 is public record.
Now, the prosecutor does not always issue a news release every time he brings charges, so someone may have to go to the court–or the court’s website– and search the docket, but you can find it. And they may redact the name of the accuser/victim from the file in sex assault cases, but they don’t do that for the defendant. News organizations have reporters whose beat is the criminal court and they monitor the docket constantly, to get the scoop on newsworthy cases. I’ll “go out on a limb” and say that Allen has not been criiminally charged.
June 2, 2023 @ 11:08 am
The “at least that have been made public” comment was more to refer to the potential of active investigations that could lead to charges as opposed to charges brought that we don’t know about. But your point is a valid one.
As I have said about this case in the past, I do think that the accusations against Allen that rise to criminal concerns should be investigated by local police.
” News organizations have reporters whose beat is the criminal court and they monitor the docket constantly, to get the scoop on newsworthy cases.”
Don’t be so sure about that. Gannet employees are striking, local news organizations are being gutted in the “techsession,” and more and more as time goes on, it’s going to be up to national outlets to cover local beats of national importance as local news around the United States continues to erode in favor of budget cuts and America’s new pastime: political punditry.
June 2, 2023 @ 11:00 am
1) when you say Luke Combs and Morgan Wallen are the two biggest stars in the genre, I assume you mean “New Mainstream Country Radio” genre, not Country as a whole.
2) The people who will be ‘lamenting’ the lack of ‘diversity’ in country music are the same people who will refuse to give country music ‘credit’ for bestowing greatness on him. The reason for this is because it doesn’t fit their narrative. There is nothing we can say to change their minds.
Lack of ‘diversity’ is not a problem unless people artificially create a problem that doesn’t exist. I base my music choices SOLELY on the quality of the music, not on the color of their skin, as to the overwhelming majority of people. A true look at country music history will bear this out. Unfortunately, since country music is one of the enemies of the left, there’s nothing we’ll be able to say or do to convince people otherwise.
June 2, 2023 @ 11:26 am
listen, as soon as the same people who complain the loudest about the lack of diversity in country music, also start complaining about the lack of diversity in hip hop and R&B music, then I will listen closer to them. Until that day comes, they have no moral leg to stand on with me. I’m not glad this is happening to Jimmy Allen, but I’m also not gonna lose any sleep over it either. I remember watching this fool when he MCd the AMP stage at the CMA fest a few years back. Had no idea who he was, but the minute I realized he was black, I knew he was being fast tracked up the ladder because of his skin color. He was terrible then, he’s terrible now. I also wouldn’t be surprised if he somehow bounces back from this. I’m starting to realize that the rules have now changed. Identity politics and social justice activism is a pervasive disease that has infected every facet of American culture. One of the worst side effects is the fact that people like Jimmy Allen seem to be getting cut a lot more slack than a lot of other people who are guilty of similar infractions.
June 2, 2023 @ 7:31 pm
*cough* Danny Masterson *cough*
June 4, 2023 @ 12:24 am
anyone who unironically uses the phrase “identity politics” is a bad-faith troll who cannot be taken remotely seriously, go to asskissing Musk troll.
Allen isn’t getting “slack” at all judging by how quickly the industry moved against him, if anything white artists tend to get the benefit of the doubt a lot more, John Rich has spouted some truly heinous bigoted crap and bogus conspiracy theories yet I don’t see him suffering any punishment for it.
Just admit you’re a racist who is secretly happy that Allen turned out to be a bad person so that you have an excuse to hate him without looking like a bigot.
June 4, 2023 @ 7:48 am
John Rich hasn’t been relevant in country music in over a decade. He’s a political figure/talking head with “country music” being the reason he’s famous.
Also, please don’t run up and down this comments section insulting everyone. Feel free to share your opinion, but try to convince us why you are right.
June 2, 2023 @ 12:16 pm
Country is so desperate for liberal diversity points they keep inviting Nelly to things after his rape accusations. This Jimmie Allen guy will be fine.
June 2, 2023 @ 1:25 pm
Jimmie Allen collaborated with Nelly on the song “Good Times Roll” in 2020. The fact that nothing happened to Nelly after he was accused of raping a woman while on tour with Florida Georgia Line and two more women subsequently I think probably lent to creating an environment where Jimmie Allen believed he could get away with it. I was literally called “racist as fuck” by a writer for Vice/Noisey for reporting on the Nelly rape story at that time.
All that said, this is a completely different situation. I am not seeing the diversity hawks rising to defend Allen. As much as they may want diversity in country music, they also take accusations as detailed as the ones Allen is facing very seriously. Not all of these cases are the same. The specificity of the “Variety” report is very damming against Allen. He is not fine, and I don’t think he will be fine unless he can clear his name 100%, and quickly. But with the lack of a counter suit, that is going to be difficult.
Where the diversity hawks will play into this is when the studies come out in the coming years, they will say country music is even more hostile toward Black people, and this Jimmie Allen incident won’t be cited at all.
June 3, 2023 @ 5:54 pm
Stop stop with your madness you are plan stupid I hope you get sued for your statement of saying Jimmy thought because of Nelly he can get away with it. So you saying all this was planned. Please use your brain and think. I’m sending your comments to some who knows how to handle comments like this.
June 2, 2023 @ 2:05 pm
Do people care about the lack of diversity in R&B, Rap, or Hip Hop? I don’t think so. Maybe if more black artists want to be country singers, then we will see more diversity. I don’t think there’s any racist agenda against minorities in country.
June 2, 2023 @ 7:29 pm
“Liking country music” is a good place to start. I am simply not seeing where many people of color are big into country music. Many want the pop-stardom sure. That doesn’t differentiate from any aspiring Taylor swifties.
June 3, 2023 @ 5:05 pm
Hip, Rap and rnb is way more diverse than country music though.
I mean the beastie boys, Eminem, Post Malone, Machine Gun Kelly, Macklemore, Bad Bunny, Drake. Not only is it more diverse in terms of race but also gender. The biggest hip hop, rnb artists right now are female – Cardi B, Rihanna, Beyonce, Nicki Minaj. The same can’t be said for country music at the moment which is still very male dominated
June 2, 2023 @ 2:13 pm
It’s weird Maren Morris isn’t all over this.
June 2, 2023 @ 2:24 pm
There has been a lot of chatter around media circles as to why no country artists have come out to speak on this matter whatsoever, including the usual suspects like Maren Morris, Kelsea Ballerini, Jason Isbell, Margo Price, etc. They’re quick to condemn so much in country music, but mum’s the word in this instance. The only artist that has spoken publicly about it is Lindsay Ell.
June 2, 2023 @ 7:33 pm
Lol yeah what a mystery. Hopefully one day the media will figure out the reason why.
June 5, 2023 @ 8:03 am
Sad about Isbell. To me he is the only one of any of these folks with any real talent. Since Something More than Free, his output is unlistenable for the most part. I think it’s gonna cause him some real personal problems in the not too distant future. He’ll break and go back to the dark side.
June 2, 2023 @ 7:41 pm
@Stew, if you go to the ‘victimhood pyramid’ you will see that it cancels out.
June 2, 2023 @ 6:25 pm
Once again, for the edification of the visitors to this site, and, in all probability, for your edification as well: The two most obscene words in the English language are “diversity” and “multiculturalism.” If you disagree, then I await your response.
June 3, 2023 @ 5:47 am
I have to disagree. I think it is “tho”.
June 2, 2023 @ 7:19 pm
The powers that be in Nashville will inevitably look for someone to fill his role in country music, and hopefully it is someone who actually plays country music.
June 3, 2023 @ 4:04 am
The War and Treaty
Breland
Charley Crockett
Kane Brown
Mickey Guyton
June 2, 2023 @ 7:26 pm
“…will no longer be a participant in the mainstream country industry, or at least not at the level that he was before.”
When have I read that before about another country artist?
Country music has a shortage of performers of color. (obviously) And true equality will mean making crazy concessions for one race’s behavior in the name of equality.
I do not understand how your boss can rape you and you would continue to work there. (I worked in customer service/sales for 5+ years so I digress)
June 3, 2023 @ 3:47 am
Darius Rucker’s first solo single didnt go #1 tho. His first solo album was released in 2002 and was a pop album.
Thats probably why that documentary mentioned Jimmie as the 1st
June 3, 2023 @ 8:34 am
Solo debut country single.
The “For Love & Country” documentary and other articles and academic papers claim that country music is only allowed to have one Black artist at a time. To forward this canard, they have to eliminate the careers of certain Black performers, which is what they did to Darius Rucker by not even mentioning him, and pushing Jimmie Allen forward as the breakthrough modern Black country artist. Rucker has had nine #1 singles, and four #1 albums. He’s a Grand Ole Opry member.
When you eliminate Darius Rucker and only include Jimmie Allen, it implies there are no modern Black mainstream country artists that have been successful left. For whatever reason, they don’t count Kane Brown, perhaps because he’s only half Black. This is Black erasure by definition.
June 3, 2023 @ 3:56 am
What’s the deal with Breland, The War & Treaty, and Mickey Guyton?
The country award shows utilize them as presenters, red carpet hosts, and performers — plus they get great media exposure.. on Today Show tv spots etc.
But radio doesnt play them???
Doesnt make sense.. bad marketing.
Radio needs to realize Jimmie Allen cant be their go to Diversity Savior and actually play artists that have been embraced within the industry already (like Guyton, War & Treaty, Breland etc)
June 3, 2023 @ 8:36 am
It will be interesting to see what happens with The War & Treaty. I think they could find a space similar to Ashley McBryde and Brothers Osborne where even though they struggle commercially, they are still successful in the mainstream space. I’ve been a little frustrated that their label has not focused on a big radio single, and instead has focused on promoting one-off live videos and such.
Mickey Guyton is a great singer, but they have no strategy with her. She hasn’t toured in years. She leans on televised performances as opposed to cultivating a grassroots following. Her switch for country to pop also put her out of favor with lots of fans.
Breland has no appeal whatsoever. He’s a construct of the industry that has never, and will never stick.
June 3, 2023 @ 7:14 am
I feel like the fact that his wife left him while she was pregnant is a good indication that these “accusations” are credible. Most couples, even if there was cheating, would probably try to stay together for a short period of time for the sake of the child.
I cheated on my second wife when our second child together was just six months old, and she decided to not file for divorce for another two years, just so we could both “be there” for the child. However, we slept in separate bedrooms.
June 3, 2023 @ 8:23 am
What about DeFord Bailey of the Opry in the 20s and 30s? What about OB McClinton in the 70s, Dwight Rucker of Malchak and Rucker of the 80s?
And, of course, Mr. Charley Pride. True, not a lot of blacks in the genre. But how many have actually tried without being a parody act? Mocking a drawl, or wearing a Nudie suit, or being something that they aren’t or never were? How about just be yourself?
June 4, 2023 @ 7:52 pm
Right on.
Mississippi John Hurt did just fine doing his country thing with the blues and had a major impact on generations of all guitarists. It’s also reasonable to think Stuff Smith was probably heard by and influenced anyone playing western swing fiddle. Meade Lewis, Charley Patton, Big Bill Broonzy, Leadbelly, Revered Gary Davis, Elizabeth Cotten, the whole group. Maybelle Carter, Jimmie Rodgers, Django Reinhardt, Jimmy Yancey…
Musicians hear music.
June 3, 2023 @ 11:18 am
No sympathy for Jimmie Allen if what is alleged is true. My sympathy is for the victim. He is a pop singer with a slight country influence. In my opinion, he has never offered anything special although some of his music is not bad. Has he had his recognition in country music only because country music wants to be diverse? He is nowhere near the class of Darius Rucker and nowhere close to Charlie Pride.
June 3, 2023 @ 12:50 pm
I have been so saddened by all of this. I had become a fan of a lot of his music. He seemed like such a likable guy too. It makes me so sad for the victim and for his children and family.
June 3, 2023 @ 3:15 pm
The only diversity dilemma for country music is the lack of good country music on the radio.
June 3, 2023 @ 3:42 pm
And just like that, everyone forgot about Charley Pride, Aaron Neville, Ray Charles, DeFord Bailey, etc… I could literally keep naming black men who sand country music back in the day, and they did not make a big ass deal about it. You know why? Because everyone liked their music. NOBODY worth a damn turned off the radio when these men came on and started singing. Good music is good music. Race baiting media is gross. Oh, and so are rapist and sexual harrassers, no matter their color or sex. 🙄😩
June 3, 2023 @ 8:57 pm
FWIW, Charley Pride was really the only one of those you mentioned to get his records regularly played on country radio. Ray Charles, when he went straight country in the 1980’s placed about 8 singles in the country top 40, but all but one of the ones that made the top 20 were duets with country radio hitmakers like Jones, Hank Jr., and the big #1 with Willie.
June 8, 2023 @ 7:54 am
I think he s a dirty person.get.s a divorse from his wife which is pregent and goes out and thinks he.s something 🤔
June 3, 2023 @ 10:24 pm
The accusations hurt my heart . I have no first hand knowledge from neither the accuser nor Jimmie Allen,therefore its not my place to say one way or the other , or to judge based on preliminary stories from the mediaJimmie is still innocent until proven guilty!
June 3, 2023 @ 11:40 pm
But it’s okay for Morgan wallen to do what he does, get black balled (pun intended)from the industry and then get brought back huh? Was just having a conversation with a buddy of mine as a matter of fact he is my Duo partner in my Country Rock Duo called The Howboy Catts. We just put out a new album called 3rd Life Google search us and you will see everything come up. We’ve been busting our asses for years, and we are a little unconventional but this new album we really believe will still do something for us my point is some of these schmucks that are out there it just seems like there’s a bunch of sleazy sleaze bags and killers and rapists running the business now LOL. I was even told that jelly roll was in jail because he killed somebody? Now the Bible says to forgive and everybody deserves a second chance but we haven’t even had our first one yet. So with that being said if jelly roll really did kill somebody and Morgan wallen got off for saying the n-word shouldn’t an actual black guy be given a second chance as well? We will see what happens this is the first I’ve heard about this story either way, interesting 🤠🤠😸😸
June 4, 2023 @ 6:42 am
Are you really comparing the Morgan Wallen incident with these accusations against Jimmie Allen?
A comment between friends, not meant as an insult, caught on a doorbell camera is the entirety of the Wallen incident. There was no accusation of a potentially criminal act, nor even any claim of injury by an aggrieved party.
If you read the Variety article detailing the accusations against Jimmie Allen, there is significant evidence of serious injury to the victim, including physical injury verified by a hospital visit.
There’s really no comparison.
June 4, 2023 @ 4:16 am
The types of evidence the article says the accuser has isn’t usually the type that precludes the accused of being exonerated, regardless of, ” physical, ” proof. The evidence the article says the accuser has is more often the, ” he did it or more then enough of it, ” type of evidence. The type of evidence that if you were King and your daughter came with the same evidence the accuser apparently has, you’d have a certain body part of the abuser violently removed. Physical proof is nearly irrelevant in sexual abuse/rape cases unless the victim reported VERY quickly. Since we ALL know that many, MANY, don’t report the abuse quickly, due to plethora of reasons, not limited to but including the IMPOSSIBLE TO NOT UNDERSTAND shame/embarrassment that comes with being sexually abused. In addition, going against what quality, top notch, rich man’s, legal team’s advice would’ve UNDOUBTEDLY been to counter sue for defamation of his what could be generational wealth earning name, to NOT defend his honor and integrity thru the countersuit, let’s just say that doesn’t smell good. The types of evidence the article says the potential victim has, are like receipts in a financial case. Texts, emails… Come on!! ANY technological communication depending on its content, could be devastating. Shyt my lady and I probably have dozens if not hundreds of text threads that are quite graphic. Y’all know once u hit send there’s no going back. No doctoring, no deleting, not if the person u sent it to wants to keep it. You’d think knowing this, at this point in our society ppl WOULD NEVER, use technology for anything even slightly risky. We ALL know TOO MANY THAT STILL DO THOUGH. There’s literally a never ending flow of news about ppl being screwed, by technologies’ forever proof like nature. As far as adding to the diversity in country music. I never thought Kane Brown was some step below Jimmy. Whoever is deciding who to push should put what would’ve been Jimmie $, opportunities and marketing right on over to Mr Brown. Finally, lemme say this, if he’s innocent of sexual abuse he should counter sue. Also, if she doesn’t or cannot produce the evidence this article says she has, she should serve a year in prison for every million she’s cost him. Say 15-20 . In my perfect world. 😊
June 4, 2023 @ 7:53 am
In this case, there is some physical evidence because the alleged victim did go to the hospital after one of the incidents where vaginal trauma was recorded, and she was reportedly told to get away from whomever was abusing her.
June 4, 2023 @ 5:13 am
You can’t force anyone, whether they be black or white, to like a particular kind of music. Why does it have to be country music’s fault? Let people like what they like and stop trying to say it must be racist if they don’t.
June 4, 2023 @ 6:02 am
Does hip-hop, kpop, soul, r&b suffer from a ‘diversity dilemma ‘?
June 4, 2023 @ 7:30 am
What are you talking about? Diversity is only required if your group is made up of a majority white heterosexuals. Groups where Black or Brown are in the majority are not subject to the same inclusion requirements. Because doing so would only provide more privilege to the white groups that are in desperate need to be marginalized. 😕
June 4, 2023 @ 8:36 am
I believe Jimmie Allen is innocent. It’s a shame he worked so hard to get where he is and a woman brings him down. I don’t believe he should’ve cheated on his wife, she seems like a good woman. His manager was in the wrong too! Jimmie was raised right in a small town in Delaware.
June 7, 2023 @ 11:02 pm
Seriously? How could anyone feel strongly that he is innocent? What if you’re wrong? It would be pretty shameful to side with a rapist if the allegations prove true.
June 4, 2023 @ 8:57 am
Diversity in country music huh will that happened in rap and r&b too
June 4, 2023 @ 5:24 pm
Um it already has. Eminem, Post Malone, beastie boys, Macklemore, Drake. There are so many popular and highly respected Asian, Australian, European, African and latin rappers now.
Comparing the diversity of country music to the global force of hip hop is ridiculous.
June 4, 2023 @ 10:11 am
This article is completely assuming, very narrow minded, lame & Pathetic! Hello go read history of musicians of the last 80 years!!
They are human, they have flaws, there are ones that have screwed up! Came back! Quit Assuming about their careers, it’s not for you to claim any one is done & washed up.
June 4, 2023 @ 9:31 pm
Look we all do wrong . We all should pray for each other. Instead of passing judgment on one another. No one isn’t
Perfect. I Love Jimmie Allen songs . That shouldn’t stop him from him from singing country music. He’s got my prayers and so does everyone else.
June 6, 2023 @ 5:07 pm
Should note that Allen released a third country radio single, “This Is Is” with Noah Cyrus, which largely failed. It charted at #32 on Hot Country Songs and #48 on Country Airplay. This was before “Freedom Was a Highway”.
June 8, 2023 @ 3:40 am
Trigger is a liberal and thinks he’s quite refined and sophisticated because of it, which is quite annoying. Would never complain about the lack of diversity in rap, R&B, and basketball. Diversity is just anti-white. Anything that is 100% black is considered 100% diverse.
July 10, 2023 @ 8:29 am
If morgan wallen can be forgiven so can Jimmy , especially when he was found not guilty. Please don’t write him off yet.