In the lawsuit, the 61-year-old singer claims one of the alleged assaults took place during 'American Idol' 's initial seasons, while the other one occurred in 2014.
- Dec 30, 2023
AceShowbiz - Paula Abdul is suing former "American Idol" and "So You Think You Can Dance" producer Nigel Lythgoe for allegedly sexually assaulting her. In a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles on Friday, December 29, the "Straight Up" singer claimed the incident occurred several times.
One of the alleged incidents took place during "American Idol" 's initial seasons. The second one occurred in 2014 when the now-61-year-old musician was hosting "So You Think You Can Dance".
In the suit, Paula alleged that before taking on the judge role on "American Idol", she met with several executives in 2001 about the show. During that meeting, she said Nigel "verbally insulted and belittled" her, calling her a "has been" who "probably wouldn't be known by the show's contestants."
Still, Paula decided to join the show by April 2002. However, once she was in, she reportedly got discriminated against and paid less than her fellow male judges. She additionally claimed that Nigel and the show's production bullied her.
Paula stated that Nigel sexually assaulted her in the elevator of a hotel room they were staying at while traveling for one of the show's auditions. "Lythgoe shoved Abdul against the wall, then grabbed her genitals and breasts, and began shoving his tongue down her throat," the suit read.
"Abdul attempted to push Lythgoe away from her. When the doors to the elevator for her door opened, Abdul ran out of the elevator and to her hotel room," it added. "Abdul quickly called one of her representatives in tears to inform them of the assault."
As to why she kept silent for years, Paula said she was afraid that Nigel would get her fired from her judging posts. Later in 2014, Nigel allegedly sexually assaulted her again at his home after inviting her for dinner, which she believed to be a "professional invitation."
"Toward the end of the evening, 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 suit claimed. "Abdul pushed Lythgoe off of her, explaining that she was not interested in his advances and immediately left."
Paula, however, once again didn't speak up on the incident because her contracts on both shows specified that she was "prohibited from publicly disclosing sensitive information" regarding the shows and their business affairs." Aside from Nigel, she listed American Idol Productions, Dance Nation Productions, 19 Entertainment and Fremantlemedia North America as defendants.
