Paula Abdul alleged in a lawsuit Friday that she was sexually abused twice by Nigel Lythgoe, the executive producer of “American Idol” and “So You Think You Can Dance.”
Abdul rose to fame in the late '80s and built a second career as a judge on reality show competitions in the early 2000s. In the lawsuit, she alleges that Lythgoe sexually assaulted her in an elevator during one of the first seasons of “American Idol.”
She claims he pushed her against a wall, groped her breasts and genitals and stuck his tongue down her throat. According to the lawsuit, she tried to push him away and as soon as the hotel door opened, she ran to her room.
Years later, Abdul was a judge on “So You Think You Can Dance.” Lythgoe invited her to his house for dinner, and she accepted, thinking it would be a professional meeting. However, according to the lawsuit, Lythgoe forced himself to climb on top of her while she sat on his couch, tried to kiss her and said they would make a great “power couple.”
She pushed him away again and fled his home, the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit also accuses Lythgoe of verbal harassment and bullying and alleges that Abdul was discriminated against and was paid less than male judges on “American Idol.” The lawsuit also alleges that the show was misleadingly edited to make it appear incompetent.
Additionally, Abdul claims she saw Lythgoe sexually assaulting one of her assistants in April 2015, pushing himself against the assistant and groping her without her consent.
“Abdul has remained silent for years about the sexual assault and harassment she experienced because of Lythgoe, fearful of speaking out against one of television's most well-known producers of competition shows, who could easily destroy her career as a television personality “from an industry ostracized and marginalized.” “committed to protecting powerful men and silencing survivors of sexual assault and harassment,” the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit alleges that Lythgoe's behavior was common knowledge and cites a MADtv parody in which Lythgoe was seen harassing contestants.
According to the lawsuit, Lythgoe once called Abdul and taunted her, saying it had been “seven years and the statute of limitations had expired.”
Abdul signed nondisclosure agreements as part of her employment on both reality shows that prevented her from revealing confidential or derogatory information.
Abdul filed the lawsuit under California's Sexual Abuse and Cover-Up Accountability Act, which provided a one-year window for filing certain sexual abuse lawsuits that would otherwise be outside the statute of limitations. The deadline for submission is December 31st.
Abdul also sued 19 Entertainment, FremantleMedia North America, American Idol Productions and Dance Nation Productions. The lawsuit alleges that the companies took no action to discipline Lythgoe and protect him from liability.