EXCLUSIVE

Too Short^[1] says the woman suing him for sexual battery is making a vengeful, shameless money grab ... and he's vowing to take his own legal action against her.

We got Short Monday in L.A. and asked for his reaction to Teana Louis claiming he sexually assaulted her on multiple occasions in 2016. The allegation is simply an extortion attempt ... according to him, anyway.

The rapper insists the furthest they ever went sexually was foreplay -- not intercourse, and certainly not sodomy as she claims^[2].

Short tells us he's got no choice but to countersue to squash this, and has a message for his accuser regarding the #metoo movement.

References^ Too Short (www.tmz.com)^ as she claims (www.tmz.com)

Read more from our friends at TMZ