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Singer and actor Paula Abdul is suing “American Idol” executive producer Nigel Lythgoe for sexual assault. Abdul, 61, claimed that the 74-year-old man sexually assaulted her twice while she was judging reality television shows.
On Friday, Abdul filed the lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court. According to the lawsuit, the first incident occurred in the elevator, during one of the first seasons of “American Idol.”
Abdul alleged that he sexually assaulted her by shoving her against the wall, “then grabbed her genitals and breasts, and began shoving his tongue down her throat.”
According to court documents, Abdul attempted to push the “American Idol” producer off her. As soon as the elevator doors opened, she immediately exited and ran to her hotel room.
Nigel Lythgoe Responds in Statement Amid Allegations
After hearing the claims made against him, Lythgoe stated, “To say that I am shocked and saddened by the allegations made against me by Paula Abdul is a wild understatement. For more than two decades, Paula and I have interacted as dear – and entirely platonic – friends and colleagues,” Lythgoe stated.
“However, out of the blue, I learned of these claims in the press and I want to be clear: not only are they false, they are deeply offensive to me and to everything I stand for.”
Paula Abdul alleges the second assault happened in 2015
According to the lawsuit, the second sexual assault allegedly occurred in 2015, on the hit show “So You Think You Can Dance” (SYTYCD). Abdul claims that the incident occurred after she joined Lythgoe for dinner at his home.
Abdul alleges that the reason she received a “professional invitation” from Lythgoe, is why she attended.
The court documents further stated:
“Toward the end of the evening, Lythgoe forced himself on top of Abdul while she was seated on his couch and attempted to kiss her while proclaiming that the two would make an excellent ‘power couple.’”
During the production of “SYTYCD”, Abdul claims that he also sexually assaulted one of her assistants in 2015. She witnessed Lythgoe press himself against her assistant and ‘grope her” without consent, the lawsuit stated.
According to the documents, Abdul has remained silent for many years, enduring verbal and physical abuse from Lythgoe.
She never spoke out, “due to fear of speaking out against one of the most well-known producers of television competition shows who could easily break her career as a television personality and of being ostracized and blackballed by an industry that had a pattern of protecting powerful men and silencing survivors of sexual assault and harassment.”