Grammy Award-winning recording artist and choreographer to the stars, Paula Abdul, has dropped a bombshell lawsuit alleging that executive producer Nigel Lythgoe sexually assaulted her during her tenure as a judge on the set of his popular shows, “American Idol” and “So You Think You Can Dance.”
The former Laker Girl alleges that Lythgoe violated her on two occasions: first in the early 2000s and again in 2015 while she was a judge on his reality competition shows. She served as one of the original judges on “American Idol” from 2002 to 2009 and later returned as a judge on “So You Think You Can Dance” for 24 episodes between 2013 and 2016.
Here is a video of the two promoting the dance show.
On Friday, Dec. 29, Abdul filed the complaint in the Los Angeles County Superior Court under the Sexual Abuse and Cover Up Accountability Act, which allows sexual assault suits to be made even if the statute of limitations has passed. The lawsuit names 19 Entertainment Inc., FremantleMedia North America Inc., American Idol Productions Inc., and Dance Nation Productions as defendants.
“Lythgoe shoved Abdul against the wall, then grabbed her genitals and breasts, and began shoving his tongue down her throat,” the complaint stated, according to HuffPost. “Abdul attempted to push Lythgoe away from her.”
“When the doors to the elevator opened, Abdul ran out of the elevator and to her hotel room,” the lawsuit continued. “Abdul quickly called one of her representatives in tears to inform them of the assault.”
The suit further states that the “Opposites Attract” singer was “discriminated against in terms of compensation and benefits compared to one of the show’s male judges and the host,” also alleging that in other cases, she was bullied, teased and harassed during her employment with the show.
Before joining the cast of “SYTYCD” Season 12 in 2015, Lythgoe invited Abdul to his home for what she thought would be “a professional invitation” to dinner, the claim asserts. As the night drew to a close, he “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 accusations continue.
Abdul also claims the producer groped her assistant.
Abdul asserts that she declined his offer and said she was concerned about what this might mean for his career with his productions.
“As with the earlier incident, Abdul feared she would be retaliated against or blackballed if she spoke out about the incident,” the complaint read, according to NBC News.
Abdul says she kept the assaults to herself for years “due to fear of speaking out” against a powerful television producer. She believed that the producer could easily break her career as a television personality.”
The claim says that because of Lythgoe’s actions, she suffered anxiety, fear, humiliation, and severe emotional distress linked to the thought that he might blackball her.
However, “in light of the Sexual Abuse and Cover Up Accountability Act, AB 2777, Abdul is no longer willing to remain silent,” the lawsuit stated.
Fans have commented on the lawsuit in disbelief.
“My jaw is on the ground,” one person tweeted. Another commented, “He should be jailed If proven.”
While many on the X platform accused her of lying, a few told her to keep her head up.
“@PaulaAbdul I’m proud of you. This had to be a scary decision,” one tweet read.
@PaulaAbdul I'm proud of you. This had to be a scary decision. 🫂🫂🫂 https://t.co/QYFau7xjrb
— Gockomo (@Gockomo) December 30, 2023
The 61-year-old singer is asking the court to award her unspecified damages.
Lythgoe, 74, has since responded to the accusations, calling them “false and deeply offensive.”
In a statement to TMZ, he said, “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. 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. While Paula’s history of erratic behavior is well known, I can’t pretend to understand exactly why she would file a lawsuit that she must know is untrue. But I can promise that I will fight this appalling smear with everything I have.”
The Sexual Abuse and Cover-Up Accountability Act, enacted in January 2023, provides survivors with a three-year time frame to file claims that would otherwise be barred by statutes of limitations.
