- Paula Abdul has sued So You Think You Can Dance producer and former American Idol Nigel Lythgoe, claiming that he twice sexually abused her. The singer filed the complaint on Friday against Lythgoe and the production firms of the program. She claims that in 2014, while presenting So You Think You Can Dance, Lythgoe sexually attacked her during one of the early seasons of American Idol.
- In one occasion, Lythgoe allegedly sexually attacked Abdul in an elevator of a hotel they were both staying at while traveling for an audition for a singing competition event, according to records acquired by Rolling Stone magazine. The lawsuit states that the incident occurred during the “early seasons” of the show, although it does not specify the year it occurred.
- The lawsuit further alleges that in 2014, when Abdul accepted an invitation to supper at his house, Lythgoe again sexually molested her. Abdul only went to the meal, according to the lawsuit, because she mistook it for a “professional invitation.”
- Abdul said that she remained silent about the allegations because she was afraid of reprisals after the two supposedly occurring instances. She was also instructed in her contracts with So You Think You Can Dance and American Idol that she was “prohibited from publicly disclosing sensitive information” about the shows’ financial matters.
- Abdul said that in 2015, while filming So You Think You Can Dance, she saw Lythgoe sexually abuse one of her aides. The singer alleges that Lythgoe “clearly knew that his assaults of Abdul were not just wrong but that he held the power to keep her silent” and that he then teased her over the phone about his alleged behavior and occurrences.
- From 2002 to 2014, Lythgoe produced American Idol, and from 2005 to 2014, So You Think You Can Dance. The production firms of the series, American Idol Productions, Dance Nation Productions, 19 Entertainment, and Fremantle media North America, were named as defendants in the lawsuit in addition to Lythgoe.
Source:
The Hollywood Reporter
