Paula Abdul filed a lawsuit on Friday (December 29) claiming she was sexually assaulted in two separate incidents by Nigel Lythgoe, the executive producer of American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance.
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According to reports in Variety and Deadline, the pop star and reality-show judge alleges in the suit the first assault occurred while she was working on an early season of American Idol.
Abdul claims in the suit that while she was in a hotel elevator, Lythgoe pushed her against a wall, touched her breasts and genitals, and stuck his tongue in her mouth. According to the suit, Abdul attempted to push Lythgoe away, and when the elevator door opened, she ran to her hotel room.
Second Alleged Assault
The lawsuit claims the second assault occurred in 2015 while Abdul was a judge on So You Think You Can Dance. According to the suit, Lythgoe invited her to his residence for dinner, and she accepted, thinking he asked her for professional reasons. However, while she was sitting on his couch, the suit claims he got on top of her and tried to kiss her. The suit also alleges Lythgoe declared he and her would make a great “power couple.”
Abdul was able to escape Lythgoe’s advances and leave his home, the suit said.
Other Allegations
The lawsuit includes a number of other allegations, among them that Abdul was verbally harassed and bullied by Lythgoe while she was an American Idol judge, and that she was discriminated against and not paid as much as the show’s male judges.
The suit also claims Abdul witnessed Lythgoe assault one of her assistants in 2015, alleging he inappropriately touched her without her consent.
Additional Aspects of the Lawsuit
The suit claims Abdul didn’t initially speak up about the incidents because she was afraid that calling out such a powerful television producer would have negative repercussions on her career. In addition, the suit notes Abdul had signed non-disclosure agreements prohibiting her from disparaging Lythgoe.
Meanwhile, the suit points out that Lythgoe had a well-known reputation for inappropriate actions, noting there was even a MADtv sketch that portrayed him harassing contestants.
In addition to Lythgoe, Abdul’s suit names 19 Entertainment, FremantleMedia North America, American Idol Productions, and Dance Nation Productions, maintaining the companies protected the producer and didn’t discipline him for his actions.
The timing of the lawsuit, which was filed in a Los Angeles court, comes just before the December 31 deadline to initiate a legal action under California’s Sexual Abuse and Cover-Up Accountability Act. The legislation opened a one-year period where certain sex-abuse lawsuits could be filed before the statute of limitations ran out.
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