Paula Abdul and Nigel Lythgoe.
Photo: Steve Granitz/WireImage
Update, January 3: Nigel Lythgoe is now facing another lawsuit by two former contestants on the 2003 show All American Girl. The women, identified as Jane Does, are suing Lythgoe and the show’s production company for sexual assault, sexual harassment, gender violence, emotional distress, and negligence, per TMZ and People. In the suit, the women allege Lythgoe groped contestants backstage on the talent competition, where his behavior was “openly accepted.” He also allegedly took the two women to his house after a wrap party for the show, where he made unwanted advances.
Lythgoe has denied Paula Abdul’s allegations of sexual assault. In a statement to TMZ on December 30, Lythgoe said that he was “shocked and saddened” by Abdul’s new lawsuit, which included allegations dated to when she judged American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance. Lythgoe claimed that he and Abdul have “interacted as dear – and entirely platonic – friends and colleagues” for more than two decades. “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 said. Vaguely alleging that Abdul has a “history of erratic behavior,” he concluded that he will fight the lawsuit.
Original story published December 29, 2023 follows.
American Idol producer and So You Think You Can Dance creator-producer Nigel Lythgoe is facing legal action from Paula Abdul for allegedly sexually assaulting her while she was a judge on those two shows. Per TMZ, Abdul filed a lawsuit in L.A. County on Friday under a California act that gives plaintiffs a window to file sexual-assault claims even after the statute of limitations has passed. (In the suit, Abdul claims that Lythgoe once “taunted” her by calling to say they should celebrate that it had been “seven years and the statute of limitations had run.”) According to court docs obtained by TMZ and Rolling Stone, Abdul is accusing Lythgoe of assaulting her during regional auditions for one of the “initial seasons” of Idol, which premiered in 2002. She alleges that he pushed her against the wall in a hotel elevator, grabbed her genitals and breasts, and tried to kiss her. In the suit, Abdul recalls running out of the elevator and immediately calling a rep, but claims that she ultimately stayed quiet because she was scared of being fired in retaliation. More broadly, she also alleges that she was “verbally insulted and belittled” by Lythgoe in a meeting with execs before she was hired on Idol, was paid less than fellow male judges, and was bullied by Lythgoe and the show’s production.
Abdul’s lawsuit details another assault that allegedly happened years later, after she had signed a contract to judge SYTYCD. She claims that she went to Lythgoe’s house for what she thought would be a discussion of professional opportunities over dinner. Instead, he allegedly forced himself on top of her and tried to kiss her, saying they would make an “excellent power couple.” She claims that she pushed him off of her and immediately left, but was again afraid of retaliation. Abdul further alleges that she saw Lythgoe groping her assistant while she was judging SYTYCD in 2015.
Abdul is suing Lythgoe, 19 Entertainment, and FremantleMedia North America for sexual assault and battery, sexual harassment, gender violence, and negligence. Representatives for Lythgoe did not immediately respond to Vulture’s request for comment.