Singer Abdul sues TV producer for sexual assault

’80s pop idol and Grammy winner Paula Abdul has sued a producer of the TV talent show “American Idol” for sexual assault. British man Nigel Lythgoe sexually assaulted her twice, a lawsuit says.

Abdul filed the lawsuit in a California court. Lythgoe denied the allegations. In the US he is also known as a judge on the dance competition show “So You Think You Can Dance”.

Abdul, now 61 years old, claims in her lawsuit that during her time as a judge on “American Idol” from 2002 to 2009, she faced attacks from Lythgoe and other people responsible for the hit show. She faced discrimination in pay and was the target of constant taunts, humiliation and other forms of bullying, as well as “harassment by various managers, agents and employees” of the show.

The most serious accusations from the musician, who rose to fame with hits such as ‘Cold Hearted’ and ‘Rush Rush’, are against Lythgoe, who is now 74 years old. In her lawsuit, she accuses him of assaulting her in a hotel elevator on the way to a casting for “American Idol,” groping her and “sticking his tongue down her throat.”

The second attack happened when Abdul was a judge on ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ in 2015 and was a guest at a meal at Lythgoe’s home. He “tried to kiss her” and claimed “the two would make an excellent ‘power couple,'” the lawsuit said.

For years, Abdul was afraid to defend herself “against one of the best-known producers of television show competitions” because Lythgoe “could easily have destroyed her career as a television personality” and there was a risk that she would be “left out.” by an industry and “The practice of protecting powerful men and silencing survivors of sexual assault and harassment was a common practice,” the lawsuit continues.

Lythgoe told NPR that he was “shocked and saddened” by Abdul’s allegations and denied her allegations.

Abdul is one of a number of plaintiffs who filed the lawsuit before the provisions of California’s so-called Sexual Abuse and Cover Up Accountability Act expire on New Year’s Eve 2023. The law made it possible for victims of sexual abuse, whose accusations had already expired, to take legal action against their tormentors. As part of this settlement, a lawsuit was also filed in November against rap mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs. (sda/afp)