Former “American Idol” and “So You Think You Can Dance” host Paula Abdul has sued the show’s original executive producer for committing sexual assault and battery, sexual harassment, gender violence, and negligence.
Filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Friday, the suit points to two separate incidents that occurred in times past.
The first incident occurred in the early 2000s when then-“American Idol” producer Nigel Lythgoe “shoved Abdul against the wall” of an elevator and then groped and kissed her, the lawsuit reads, according to CNN.
“Abdul attempted to push Lythgoe away from her and let him know that his behavior was not acceptable,” the lawsuit continues.
The following is from 2013:
The second incident occurred in 2015 when Lythgoe “forced himself on top of Abdul while she was seated on his couch and attempted to kiss her” during what she thought was a business-related dinner at the producer’s home.
In response, she said she “was not interested in his advances,” according to the suit.
As to why she never spoke up before about Lythgoe assaulting her and about him reportedly also once assaulting her assistant, she reportedly claims in the suit that she’d feared professional retaliation.
In a statement issued to the Associated Press on Saturday, Abdul’s lawyer Douglas Johnson praised her decision to finally speak up.
“It was clearly a difficult decision to make, but Ms. Abdul knows that she stands both in the shoes and on the shoulders of many other similarly situated survivors, and she is determined to see that justice is done,” he said.
Lythgoe has for his part cried innocence.
“To say that I am shocked and saddened by the allegations made against me by Paula Abdul is a wild understatement,” he said in a statement to TMZ. “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,” he added.
He also accused Abdul of “erratic behavior.”
“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,” he said.
The “erratic behavior” accusation may be related to a longtime claim of surviving a plane crash that appears to have never occurred.
Remember that time Paula Abdul made up she was in a plane crash?
Paula has claimed that she had to take years off in order to recover from trauma and injuries she supposedly suffered in a plane crash. However, no record of any plane crash exists. #PaulaAbdul #EvidenceNeeded pic.twitter.com/QOoWp4utXB
— ✰ ΜσｄＹ ｏn ✰ (@OminousMoody) December 31, 2023
“For years, Abdul has claimed that she was compelled to take a few years off in order to recover from trauma and injuries she supposedly suffered in a plane crash,” according to Grunge magazine. “However, no record of any such plane crash exists, and her telling of the events surrounding the supposed event has changed over the years.”
That said, Lythgoe’s past remarks are equally controversial.
During a 2017 interview with The Daily Beast, he joked that he wanted to abuse her. The remarks were made after Abdul had accused “American Idol” host Simon Cowell of having “mistreated” her.
“To be honest, I was an admirer of Paula back in the U.K. before I came here to the States. To be able to work with her on Idol for all those years and see how she was mistreated by Simon … so abused and mistreated,” he said.
“I wanted to be the next person to abuse her,” he added.
Among the public, it seems most people don’t believe her, not only due to the airplane story, but also this telling clip:
Hmm… pic.twitter.com/FvtHTjiXWK
— Chimpin’ Ain’t Easy (@RandomDadShit) December 31, 2023
See more responses below (*Language warning):
Nope. Not buying it.
— Steve Buonfiglio (@bono511266) December 31, 2023
I don’t believe her.
— 2VNews (@2VNews) December 31, 2023
If it takes 20 yrs to say I have to question it happened – maybe she needs to top her bank account up
— Vonnie (@dizzy600) December 31, 2023
Why did she work with him on another one of his shows after the first alleged incident? Was she contractually forced to do it?
— HNM (@naposapo81) December 31, 2023
If you are sexually assaulted you don’t hang out with that person or go to their home… bullshit lawsuit. You don’t wait 20 years.
— RonABryant (@_Ron_A_Bryant_) December 30, 2023
If it was Simon, it would make more sense. Aside from that, why the fuck would she work with him in 2015, years after the first alleged assault? She was that hard up for cash that she said “fuck it?”
— Elle Latham (@ElleLatham) December 31, 2023
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V. Saxena is a staff writer for BizPac Review with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University.
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