Nigel Lythgoe — producer of American Idol and So You Suppose You Can Dance — has been hit by one other lawsuit accusing him of sexual assault.
Within the new lawsuit — obtained by a number of shops — which was filed on Tuesday, Lythgoe faces allegations leveled by two ladies — recognized as Jane Doe Okay.G. and Jane Doe Okay.L. — who state that they have been contestants on the short-lived ABC actuality competitors present All American Lady again in 2003.
The ladies declare of their lawsuit that the English producer and TV persona, now 74, drove them to a home in Los Angeles after filming wrapped — as a substitute of to a studio to fulfill with others, as they are saying had been deliberate — after which Lythgoe allegedly tried to forcibly kiss them, regardless of protestations.
He’s additionally accused of groping and smacking the contestant’s buttocks on set throughout filming.
Lythgoe is known as John Roe N.L. within the lawsuit, whereas the present is recognized as A.A.G. Nevertheless, TMZ and Deadline have subsequently confirmed that Lythgoe is, in reality, the John Roe N.L. in query.
ET has reached out to Lythgoe’s representatives for remark.
The lawsuit, filed on Jan. 2, comes just some days after Paula Abdul filed a lawsuit in opposition to Lythgoe, claiming that the producer sexually assaulted her on two events.
In keeping with courtroom paperwork obtained by ET, filed on Dec. 29 in Los Angeles County Superior Court docket, the GRAMMY winner claims the primary alleged incident occurred throughout certainly one of American Idol‘s “initial seasons.” Abdul was one of many unique judges on the singing competitors sequence from 2002 to 2009, alongside Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson.
Abdul claims Lythgoe sexually assaulted her once more in 2015 when she was a decide on So You Suppose You Can Dance.
Lythgoe staunchly denied the allegations in a press release to ET on Saturday.
“To say that I am shocked and saddened by the allegations made against me by Paula Abdul is a wild understatement,” Lythgoe acknowledged. “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,” Lythgoe’s assertion concluded. “But I can promise that I will fight this appalling smear with everything I have.”
It needs to be famous that each Abdul’s lawsuit and the latest lawsuit have been filed below California’s Sexual Abuse and Cowl Up Accountability Act, which gave folks a window of alternative to filed lawsuits associated to alleged incidents that might in any other case fall outdoors the statute of limitations.
Nevertheless, that window closed on Dec. 31 — which means Abdul’s lawsuit made the minimize, however Tuesday’s lawsuit could find yourself not qualifying for consideration below the Sexual Abuse and Cowl Up Accountability Act.
As for Abdul’s allegations, the singer and TV persona claimed in courtroom paperwork that Lythgoe assaulted her in an elevator throughout her time on American Idol, and he allegedly “shoved [her] against the wall, then grabbed her genitals and breasts and began shoving his tongue down her throat.” She claims she “attempted to push Lythgoe away from her and let him know that his behavior was not acceptable.”
After the alleged assault, Abdul claims she knowledgeable her reps about it however selected to not take motion out of “fear that Lythgoe would have her fired from American Idol.”
Abdul additionally claimed that she was “discriminated against in terms of compensation and benefits compared to one of the show’s male judges and the host,” whereas additionally being “the target of constant taunts, bullying, humiliation and harassment” as a decide on the hit sequence.
She additional claims that Lythgoe assaulted her once more in 2015, throughout her time on SYTYCD, this time at his dwelling the place she was invited to dinner “believing this to be a professional invitation.”
However Abdul claims Lythgoe “forced himself on top of Abdul while she was seated on his couch and attempted to kiss her while proclaiming that the two would make an excellent power couple.”
The “Opposites Attract” singer claims she pushed him off and instructed him she was not excited by his advances and left his dwelling. That very same 12 months, Abdul claims she additionally witnessed Lythgoe sexually assault certainly one of her assistants recognized as April in courtroom paperwork.
In a press release to ET, Abdul’s legal professionals, Johnson & Johnson, LLP, spoke in regards to the performer suing below the California legislation AB 2777, also called the Sexual Abuse and Cowl Up Accountability Act.
“AB 2777 was passed with the express purpose of giving voice to survivors of sexual abuse who had been pressured, coerced, or otherwise deterred from holding their abusers to account in the pre-MeToo era,” the assertion shared. “We are proud to help provide Ms. Abdul with access to the courts and a megaphone for her story to be told.”
“Ms. Abdul should be commended for the immense courage required to take action against the type of abuse that was inflicted upon her, particularly when the alleged abuser is a figure so dominant in her profession,” the assertion continued. “It was clearly a difficult decision to make, but Ms. Abdul knows that she stands both in the shoes and on the shoulders of many other similarly situated survivors, and she is determined to see that justice is done.”
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