Paula Abdul sues ‘American Idol,’ ‘SYTYCD’ producer Nigel Lythgoe over alleged sexual assault
Paula Abdul accused “American Idol” and “So You Think You Can Dance” executive producer Nigel Lythgoe of sexual assault in a lawsuit filed Friday in Los Angeles.
Abdul, who appeared as a judge on “American Idol” from 2002-09 and on dance competition “SYTYCD” from 2015-16, alleges that boss and on-air co-star Lythgoe sexually assaulted her twice during her tenures on his shows. She also alleges that she suffered bullying and harassment and gender pay discrimination while serving as a prominent public face of the hit reality programs.
The four-count complaint in Los Angeles Superior Court alleges that Abdul has suffered “severe emotional distress, emotional anguish, fear, anxiety, humiliation, embarrassment, and other physical and emotional injuries” that are “substantial, continuing and permanent” and is seeking a jury trial.
According to the suit, the first alleged assault occurred in a hotel elevator in the 2000s while Abdul, 61, and Lythgoe, 74, were on the road filming an early season of “American Idol.” Abdul alleges that one day following regional auditions, the executive producer “shoved her against the wall, then grabbed her genitals and breasts, and began shoving his tongue down her throat” before she ran to her hotel room and reported the incident to her representatives.
The second assault is alleged to have occurred in 2015 when Abdul appeared as a Season 12 judge on “So You Think You Can Dance” alongside executive producer and co-creator Lythgoe. Abdul alleges that she was invited to what she believed was a professional dinner at Lythgoe’s home, only for Lythgoe to force himself on her and attempt to kiss her as she sat on his couch before she pushed him off and fled.
In both incidents, according to the lawsuit, Abdul feared professional retaliation or blackballing if she spoke out against Lythgoe, who was then president of the television division of “American Idol” and “So You Think You Can Dance” producer 19 Entertainment Inc.
In the wake of multiple lawsuits filed against him, former members of Combs’ inner circle told The Times that his alleged misconduct against women goes back decades.
Abdul alleges that she additionally witnessed Lythgoe grope her assistant without her consent during filming of “So You Think You Can Dance” that year. According to the lawsuit, Abdul’s contracts on the shows barred her from disclosing confidential or derogatory information about other judges, hosts or production staff.
The lawsuit names as defendants Lythgoe and production companies 19 Entertainment, FremantleMedia North America, American Idol Productions and Dance Nation Productions on counts of sexual assault/battery, sexual harassment, gender violence and negligence.
Additionally, Abdul alleges that she was subject to “taunts, bullying, humiliation and harassment” from Lythgoe and other executives and representatives of the show’s producers, including misleading edits of footage of Abdul that depicted her as “inept.”
Abdul, the Grammy and Emmy-winning “Forever Your Girl” singer, dancer and choreographer, rose to fame in the 1980s before building a second career in TV with her popular appearances on shows including “American Idol,” “So You Think You Can Dance” and “Dancing With the Stars.” In 2009, the veteran judge announced her departure from “Idol” following reports of tension amid contractual negotiations over her compensation.
Abdul’s lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court under this year’s Sexual Abuse and Cover Up Accountability Act, which allows limited windows for filing certain civil sexual abuse claims beyond the usual statute of limitations. . Representatives for Lythgoe did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Other recent high-profile lawsuits filed under the act have levied sexual assault allegations against Jermaine Jackson and former Recording Academy chief Mike Greene. Sean “Diddy” Combs, Antonio “L.A.” Reid and Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler have been sued under a similar New York law.
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