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Just days after Paula Abdul sued American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance producer Nigel Lythgoe for sexual assault, Lythgoe is facing a new lawsuit from two Jane Does who claim he forced himself on them when they In 2003, participants on his reality game show All were American Girl.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, begins with the allegation that Lythgoe “openly slapped the buttocks and groped” the two plaintiffs as he roamed the show's set while contestants wore dance costumes. The 14-page complaint, obtained by Rolling Stone, further alleges that Lythgoe showed an “unusual interest” in the plaintiff, identified as Jane Doe KN, after a wrap party for the show in May 2003.
According to the filing, which identifies Lythgoe by his initials, co-plaintiff Jane Doe KG noticed the obvious attention, particularly when Lythgoe “insisted” that Jane Doe KN drive back to the studio from the wrap party in his private car. “Plaintiff KG saw this and decided to go along to ensure that her colleague was not left alone,” the lawsuit states. “Instead of driving Plaintiffs back to the studio where everyone else went, Defendant NL took Plaintiffs to a home in Los Angeles. There the defendant NL made sexual advances towards the plaintiffs KG and KN.”
The lawsuit alleges the women rejected the advances, but Lythgoe persisted. “At one point, Defendant NL raised his sweater over Plaintiff KG’s head and wrapped her in his sweater, attempting to kiss her and pressing her body close to his,” the lawsuit says, adding that Jane Doe KG repeated the advance offensive refused and “got confused”. “escaped.
“Later that night, defendant NL pushed plaintiff KN against a wing in the house, pressed himself against her body and pushed his mouth and tongue toward her, despite her repeated requests not to do so, and tried to hold her face to pull away from his. “, says the file. “When plaintiff KG saw this and protested, defendant NL finally capitulated.”
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Attempts to reach a spokesman for Lythgoe were not immediately successful Tuesday evening. Although the lawsuit identifies the shipment by its initials, “AAG,” the shipment matches the dates and details in the filing, which was first reported by TMZ. The short-lived reality show, produced by Lithgoe, aired its finale on ABC Family on May 24, 2003.
Last Friday, Abdul filed her separate lawsuit against Lythgoe, claiming he sexually assaulted her in a hotel elevator during one of the “first seasons” of American Idol in the early 2000s. “Lythgoe pushed Abdul against the wall, then grabbed her genitals and breasts and began shoving his tongue down her throat,” says the lawsuit, also filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court. “Abdul tried to push Lythgoe away from her. When the elevator doors opened for her door, Abdul ran out of the elevator and into her hotel room. “Abdul, in tears, quickly called one of their representatives to inform him of the attack,” the lawsuit says.
In a statement to The New York Times, Lythgoe denied Abdul's allegations, calling them an “appalling slander.”
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“To say that I am shocked and saddened by the allegations made against me by Paula Abdul is a complete understatement,” he said in the statement released Saturday. “For more than two decades, Paula and I have treated each other as dear – and entirely platonic – friends and colleagues. However, yesterday, out of the blue, I learned of these allegations in the press and I want to make it clear: not only are they false, they are deeply offensive to me and everything I stand for.” He added that he “doesn't pretend as if he understood exactly why she would file a lawsuit that she had to know was untrue.”
The new lawsuit, filed Tuesday, alleges sexual assault and battery, sexual harassment, negligence, gender-based violence and intentional infliction of emotional distress against Lythgoe and an unidentified production company he ran at the time of the alleged assaults. It alleges that Lythgoe's actions “went beyond the bounds of decency” and caused the plaintiffs “mental anguish, embarrassment, humiliation, physical and emotional distress, anxiety and fear.”