Paula Abdul is suing ‘Idol’ producer Nigel Lythgoe for two sexual assaults

The states of New York and California both passed one-year-only laws allowing victims/survivors of sexual assault, abuse and harassment to sue their attackers in civil court regardless of he statute of limitations on criminal prosecutions. The New York law gave space for Cassie to sue Sean Combs (and he settled quickly) and for a Jane Doe to sue Jamie Foxx for a 2015 assault. Well, Paula Abdul is now one of the most high-profile women to use California’s Sexual Abuse and Cover-Up Accountability Act. Paula has accused her former American Idol producer Nigel Lythgoe with multiple sexual assaults.

Paula Abdul alleged in a lawsuit on Friday that she was twice sexually assaulted by Nigel Lythgoe, the executive producer of “American Idol” and “So You Think You Can Dance.”

Abdul rose to stardom in the late 80s and built a second career as a judge of reality show competitions in the early 2000s. In the suit, she alleges that during one of the early seasons of “American Idol,” Lythgoe sexually assaulted her in an elevator. She alleges that he shoved her against a wall, groped her breasts and genitals, and shoved his tongue down her throat. According to the suit, 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 home for dinner, and she accepted, thinking it would be a professional encounter. However, according to the suit, Lythgoe forced himself on top of her while she was sitting on his couch, attempted to kiss her, and said they would make a great “power couple.” Again, she pushed him away and fled his home, the lawsuit states.

The suit 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 suit further alleges that the show would be edited in a misleading way to make her appear inept.

Additionally, Abdul alleges that she witnessed Lythgoe sexually assault one of her assistants in April 2015, pressing up against the assistant and groping her without consent.

“For years, Abdul has remained silent about the sexual assaults and harassment she experienced on account of Lythgoe due to fear of speaking out against one of the most well-known producers of television competition shows who could easily break her career as a television personality and of being ostracized and blackballed by an industry that had a pattern of protecting powerful men and silencing survivors of sexual assault and harassment,” the lawsuit states. The suit alleges that Lythgoe’s behavior was common knowledge, and cites a MADtv parody in which Lythgoe was seen harassing contestants.

According to the suit, Lythgoe called Abdul once and taunted her, saying it had been “seven years and the statute of limitations had run.” Abdul signed non-disclosure agreements as part of her employment on both reality shows, which prevented her from disclosing confidential or derogatory information. Abdul filed the suit under California’s Sexual Abuse and Cover-Up Accountability Act, which created a one-year window to file certain sexual abuse lawsuits that would otherwise be outside the statute of limitations. The deadline to file is Dec. 31.

[From Variety]

Yeah, I believe her. I believed her before I read Lythgoe’s response, and I believe her even harder after reading his response:

Lythgoe denied the allegations in a statement Saturday. “To say that I am shocked and saddened by the allegations made against me by Paula Abdul is a wild understatement. For more than two decades, Paula and I have interacted as dear – and entirely platonic – friends and colleagues. Yesterday, however, out of the blue, I learned of these claims in the press and I want to be clear: not only are they false, they are deeply offensive to me and to everything I stand for. While Paula’s history of erratic behavior is well known, I can’t pretend to understand exactly why she would file a lawsuit that she must know is untrue. But I can promise that I will fight this appalling smear with everything I have.”

[From Variety]

“Paula’s history of erratic behavior” – O RLY? That’s all he’s got? “She’s crazy, she’s behaving erratically” when she has made detailed accounts of multiple sexual assaults? Team Abdul. It would not surprise me if he treated the women “below” him much worse – as Paula notes in her lawsuit, she witnessed him grope an assistant too. This feels like it could be the tip of the iceberg.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.