‘American Idol’ star Paula Abdul accuses producer Nigel Lithgow of sexual assault By Reuters
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Paula Abdul arrives at the premiere of the film Prey in Los Angeles, California, United States on August 2, 2022. REUTERS/David Swanson/File Photo
(Reuters) – American singer, dancer and “American Idol” star Paula Abdul is suing British TV executive Nigel Lythgoe, accusing him of sexually assaulting her while they appeared together on two popular entertainment shows. filed, court documents said.
Abdul, who rose to fame as a chart-topping singer in the late 1980s, claims in a lawsuit filed Friday in Los Angeles County Superior Court that Lithgow sexually assaulted her in an elevator early in the season of the TV singing competition series “American Idol.” .”
Lythgoe, a producer on several hit TV talent competitions, allegedly made unwanted physical contact with Abdul, including groping his breasts and genitals in a hotel elevator after an “American Idol” audition. Abdul tried to push him away, and as soon as the elevator doors opened, he ran away, court documents said.
Reuters could not immediately contact Abdul or Lythgoe for comment.
According to TMZ, Lythogoe denied the claims.
“For over 20 years, Paula and I have been dear friends and colleagues,” he told TMZ. “But suddenly yesterday I became aware of these claims in the media and I want to make it clear: they are not only false, they are deeply insulting to me and everything I stand for.”
According to court documents, Abdul immediately reported the assault by Lythgoe, then an “American Idol” producer, to his agent, but took no action out of fear of losing his job, the lawsuit said.
Moreover, Abdul’s contract prohibited her from speaking, the suit said.
According to court documents, another alleged assault occurred a few years later while Abdul was a judge on “So You Think You Can Dance.” The 61-year-old star enjoyed new popularity in the early 2000s when she appeared as a judge on a talent TV series.
The lawsuit alleges that Lythgoe, 74, assaulted her on the couch of his Los Angeles home after a work dinner. Abdul once again flatly rejected him and “immediately left Lithgow’s home,” court documents state.
In the lawsuit, Abdul made other allegations against the entertainment mogul, including that Lythgoe once called her to taunt her and said “it’s been seven years and the statute of limitations has passed” on the alleged assault.
The lawsuit claimed the star witnessed Lythgoe assault one of her assistants on “So You Think You Can Dance.”
The lawsuit was filed days before the Dec. 31 filing deadline established under the California Sexual Abuse and Cover-up Liability Act. The bill allows individuals to file certain sexual abuse lawsuits outside the statute of limitations.
