In her filing, obtained by E! News, Abdul, 61, details two incidents of alleged sexual assault by Lythgoe, 74. The first allegedly occurred during one of the first seasons of American Idol, when Abdul and Lythgoe were traveling to the show's regional auditions. It alleges that the producer groped the singer and kissed her without her consent while the two were in a hotel elevator.
Abdul says that she tried to push him away and tell him that his behavior was unacceptable, and that she soon ran out and told one of her representatives about the incident, but “ultimately decided not to take any action.” Fear that Lythgoe would fire her from American “Idol.”
Abdul also alleges in her lawsuit that Lythgoe sexually assaulted her again years later, around the time she was working as one of his co-judges on “So You Think You Can Dance,” a reality dance competition series he co-created.
The singer, who appeared on the show in that capacity between 2015 and 2016, says in her filing that he invited her to dinner at his home “to discuss other possibilities for the two of them to work together,” and that she accepted the invitation. Abdul claims that toward the end of the evening, Lythgoe forced himself to climb on top of her while she sat on his couch and “tried to kiss her while proclaiming that the two would make an excellent 'power couple.' “