Paula Abdul sues ‘American Idol’ producer Nigel Lythgoe over alleged sexual assault

LOS ANGELES — Singer-actress Paula Abdul filed a lawsuit on Friday against former “American Idol” producer Nigel Lythgoe, alleging that he sexually assaulted her when she was a judge on the television reality show during the early 2000s.

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Abdul, 61, who appeared as a judge on “American Idol” from 2002 to 2009 and on the dance competition “So You Think You Can Dance” in 2015-16, filed the lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Abdul, who rose to prominence as a choreographer and pop singer in the late 1980s, alleged that Lythgoe, 71, sexually assaulted her in an elevator and another time at the producer’s home, according to Variety.

The lawsuit also alleges that Abdul suffered bullying and harassment, along with gender pay discrimination while appearing on the hit shows, the entertainment news website reported.

Lythgoe: ‘Shocked and saddened’ by allegations

Update 12:24 a.m. EST Dec. 31: In an emailed statement from a representative, Lythgoe said that Abdul’s allegations were “deeply offensive.”

“To say that I am shocked and saddened by the allegations made against me by Paula Abdul is a wild understatement,” Lythgoe said. “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. But I can promise that I will fight this appalling smear with everything I have.”

Original report: Abdul is suing under a California law that allows people making sexual assault accusations to file claims outside the statute of limitations, The New York Times reported.

Lythgoe helped turn “American Idol” into a phenomenon in the United States in 2002 after developing an earlier version of the show in the United Kingdom, according to the newspaper. He also created “So You Think You Can Dance” and appeared as a judge for 16 seasons.

Representatives for Abdul and Lythgoe did not immediately respond to requests for comment from multiple media outlets.

According to the lawsuit, Abdul’s contracts on the shows prohibited her from disclosing confidential or derogatory information about other judges, hosts or producers, the Los Angeles Times reported.

“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 lawsuit states, according to Variety.

Defendants in addition to Lythgoe include production companies 19 Entertainment, FremantleMedia North America, American Idol Productions and Dance Nation Productions, the Los Angeles Times reported. They are accused on counts of sexual assault/battery, sexual harassment, gender violence and negligence.

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