Paula Abdul Accuses ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ Judge Nigel Lythgoe of Sexual Assault
Paula Abdul stepped into the spotlight in the 1980s, the singer of hits such as “Straight Up” and “Opposites Attract.” In the 2000s, she gained a new generation of fans as a judge on broadcast TV shows such as American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance. But in a bombshell lawsuit filed Friday in Los Angeles, Abdul claimed that the second act of her career was marred with sexual assault, verbal abuse, and bullying from show producer and—at times—fellow judge Nigel Lythgoe.
Neither Abdul nor Lythgoe have responded to Vanity Fair’s request for comment, but in legal filings reported on by Rolling Stone, Abdul alleges that Lythgoe—a British producer known for a slew of talent competition shows—sexually assaulted her during one of the earlier seasons of American Idol, which launched on Fox in June 2002 with judges Randy Jackson, Simon Cowell, and Abdul. Abdul left the series in 2009.
According to the filing, which was also obtained by TMZ, Abdul told her representative about the alleged attack immediately following. However, the suit claims that Abdul feared retaliation and did not report the incident to management.
Nigel Lythgoe, Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul
Ray Mickshaw
The filing also claims that Lythgoe attacked her a second time years later, shortly after she’d signed a new contract to judge So You Think You Can Dance, which Lythgoe co-created, produced, and was on-camera as a fellow judge. Abdul again kept the alleged incident to herself, fearing that a report would cost her her job.
She had also signed non-disclosure agreements with both shows, the suit claims, which prohibited the disclosure of “derogatory information.”
New judges Jason Derulo (L) and Paula Abdul (C) join Nigel Lythgoe (R) for the 12th season of SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE premiering summer 2015 on FOX.
FOX/Getty Images
According to the suit, Abdul was paid less than her male counterparts on American Idol, and was “the target of constant taunts, bullying, humiliation, and harassment from Lythgoe and other executives, agents, employees, and/or representatives of the show’s producers, 19 Entertainment and Fremantle.” Those companies are also named in the suit against Lythgoe, as are American Idol Productions and Dance Nation Productions.
“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 suit claims.
“Lythgoe knew and was aware that his treatment of Abdul was inappropriate and even criminal,” the suit reads. “Indeed, at one point, Lythgoe called Abdul and taunted her that they should celebrate because it had been ‘seven years and the statute of limitations had run.’ Lythgoe clearly knew that his assaults of Abdul were not just wrong but that he held the power to keep her silent.”
Abdul’s suit is the latest to be filed under recent legislation in New York and California that briefly allowed claims of sexual assault to be made even after that statute of limitations had expired. In New York, that window for new claims closed on November 24. In California, where recent days have seen suits against Vin Diesel, Tommy Lee, and Jermaine Jackson, that deadline is December 31.
