Paula Abdul has filed a lawsuit towards Nigel Lythgoe, claiming that the American Idol and So You Suppose You Can Dance producer sexually assaulted her on two events.
In response to a number of experiences citing courtroom paperwork filed Friday in Los Angeles County Superior Court docket, the GRAMMY winner claims the primary alleged incident occurred throughout one in all American Idol‘s “initial seasons.” Abdul was one of many authentic judges on the singing competitors sequence from 2002 to 2009, alongside Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson.
In courtroom paperwork, Abdul, 60, claims Lythgoe, 74, assaulted her in an elevator when he “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.”
ET has reached out to Lythgoe’s reps for remark.
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.” She additionally went on to say 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 choose on the hit sequence.
Abdul claims Lythgoe sexually assaulted her once more in 2015 when she was a choose on So You Suppose You Can Dance, this time at his residence 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 informed him she was not enthusiastic about his advances and left his residence. That very same yr, Abdul claims she additionally witnessed Lythgoe sexually assault one in all her assistants recognized as April in courtroom paperwork.
“One evening, Lythgoe approached Abdul and April from behind, pressed himself up against April and began to grope her,” the lawsuit acknowledged. “April did not consent.”
Abdul can be suing the manufacturing corporations behind the reveals, which Lythgoe produced till 2014. She acknowledged within the lawsuit that she didn’t communicate out in regards to the claims for concern of retaliation. She’s suing Lythgoe and the manufacturing corporations for sexual assault/battery, sexual harassment, gender violence and negligence.
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