Paula Abdul Accuses Nigel Lythgoe of Sexual Assault Throughout ‘American Idol’

Paula Abdul filed a lawsuit on Friday in opposition to Nigel Lythgoe, a former longtime producer of “American Idol,” accusing him of sexually assaulting her when she was a choose on the truth present within the early 2000s.

Within the lawsuit, Ms. Abdul says that in one of many early seasons of “American Idol,” Mr. Lythgoe shoved her in opposition to the wall of a lodge elevator, grabbed her genitals and breasts and started “shoving his tongue down her throat.” Ms. Abdul mentioned within the lawsuit that she tried to push Mr. Lythgoe away, and that when the elevator doorways opened, she ran to her lodge room and referred to as one among her representatives in tears.

Mr. Lythgoe helped flip “American Idol” right into a phenomenon in america in 2002 after growing an earlier iteration of the present in Britain. He was additionally a creator of “So You Think You Can Dance,” on which he appeared as a choose for 16 seasons.

In an announcement on Saturday, Mr. Lythgoe denied the allegations, saying that he would “fight this appalling smear with everything I have.”

“To say that I am shocked and saddened by the allegations made against me by Paula Abdul is a wild understatement,” Mr. Lythgoe mentioned within the assertion. “For more than two decades, Paula and I have interacted as dear — and entirely platonic — friends and colleagues. Yesterday, 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.”

He added that he couldn’t “pretend to understand exactly why she would file a lawsuit that she must know is untrue.”

Each Mr. Lythgoe and Ms. Abdul, who rose to fame as a choreographer and pop star within the late Eighties, turned fixtures of American actuality tv as judges with the ability to show promising singers and dancers into stars. Ms. Abdul spent eight seasons on “American Idol,” entertaining viewers along with her gushing commentary and playful rivalry along with her fellow choose Simon Cowell.

After leaving “American Idol,” Ms. Abdul was a choose on “So You Think You Can Dance,” working alongside Mr. Lythgoe in 2015 and 2016. She says within the lawsuit that Mr. Lythgoe once more made advances throughout this time, whereas she was at his dwelling to debate work.

“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,’” the lawsuit mentioned. “Abdul pushed Lythgoe off of her, explaining that she was not interested in his advances, and immediately left Lythgoe’s home.”

The lawsuit, which was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Courtroom, mentioned Ms. Abdul didn’t converse publicly concerning the encounters as a result of she feared retaliation from Mr. Lythgoe.

Ms. Abdul is suing beneath a California law that enables individuals making sexual assault accusations to file claims outdoors the statute of limitations for a restricted time frame.

In her lawsuit, Ms. Abdul, 61, additionally accused Mr. Lythgoe, 74, of verbal harassment, saying that he referred to as her at one level and advised her they need to rejoice as a result of “it had been ‘seven years and the statute of limitations had run.’”

Ms. Abdul additionally introduced the lawsuit in opposition to manufacturing corporations behind “American Idol” and “So You Think You Can Dance,” accusing them of negligence. Representatives for the reveals and the manufacturing corporations didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark.

When Ms. Abdul left “American Idol” in 2009, there was hypothesis that her exit was the results of disagreements about pay disparities with the present’s male faces.

In her lawsuit, Ms. Abdul says that as a choose on “American Idol,” she was “discriminated against in terms of compensation and benefits.” She describes her relationship with the present’s producers and different judges as “strained from the start,” saying that she was the goal of “constant taunts” from Mr. Lythgoe and others concerned within the present and that selective modifying made her seem “inept.”

Mr. Lythgoe was a largely behind-the-scenes determine with “American Idol,” leaving as an govt producer of the present a few decade in the past, however he has been heart stage on “So You Think You Can Dance,” turning himself right into a performing arts impresario and advocate for dance training. He’s scheduled to return as a choose within the spring.