Grammy Award-winning artist and American television star Paula Abdul has accused a producer of the television singing competition “American Idol” of sexual assault, according to a lawsuit filed in California.
Paula Abdul, whose album Forever Your Girlreleased in 1988, had been acclaimed as the most successful debut album in history, accused Nigel Lythgoe, a producer of “American Idol”, of having sexually assaulted her on two occasions, according to the complaint filed Friday 29 December.
The English producer, also a judge on the television dance competition “So You Think You Can Dance”, denied these accusations, reported TMZ. In her complaint, the 61-year-old singer said she was harassed by Mr. Lythgoe and other executives on “American Idol,” where she was a judge from 2002 to 2009.
Victim of “constant taunts”
According to the complaint, the star was the victim of salary discrimination and “constant taunting, intimidation, humiliation and harassment from several managers, agents and employees” of the show. In addition, more serious charges target Nigel Lythgoe, aged 74.
Early in the run of “American Idol,” according to the complaint, Paula Abdul and the producer were traveling together to audition for the competition when he assaulted her in a hotel elevator, groping her and “shoving his tongue down his throat”.
A second attack dates back to 2015, when Paula Abdul had just agreed to be a judge on “So You Think You Can Dance”. She had gone to dinner with Nigel Lythgoe, where he would have “tried to kiss her while claiming they would make a great “power couple””.
“For years, Paula Abdul remained silent about Nigel Lythgoe’s sexual assault and harassment, for fear of exposing one of TV’s best-known competition producers who could easily ruin her career as a TV personality ostracize her and ostracize her from an industry that had a history of protecting powerful men and muzzling survivors of sexual assault and harassment.”, argues the complaint. Mr Lythgoe declared himself “shocked and saddened” while refuting these accusations, to NPR radio.
Paula Abdul’s complaint is the latest in a series of high-profile lawsuits filed ahead of Sunday’s expiration of part of California’s sexual assault and concealment of blame law.