Paula Abdul - Singer sues "American Idol" producers
US singer Paula Abdul (61) has filed a lawsuit against star producer and TV judge Nigel Lythgoe (74). She accuses the co-founder of the successful casting shows "American Idol" and "So You Think You Can Dance" of sexually harassing her twice. The Grammy and Emmy winner claims in a lawsuit filed on Friday, according to "The Rolling Stone", that Lythgoe sexually harassed her in a hotel elevator. At the time, the two were traveling to an audition for the show as part of the first season of "American Idol". The lawsuit does not specify the exact year.
The producer pressed her against the wall and groped her genitals and breasts. At the same time, he tried to push his tongue into her mouth, according to the indictment. The singer fought back and tried to push Lythgoe away. When the elevator door opened, she ran to her hotel room in tears. She immediately called one of her people and spoke about the incident, but refrained from taking any further action. Paula Abdul was part of the jury in the first eight seasons of the US version of "Deutschland sucht den Superstar" from 2002 to 2009, and Lythgoe was its executive producer.
A second assault is said to have taken place in 2014. At the time, she was invited to a dinner at his house. Abdul only attended because she thought it was a business meeting. During the course of the evening, Lythgoe snuggled up to Abdul, who was sitting on a sofa, and tried to kiss her again. At the same time, he announced to those present that he and Abdul would make a great "power couple". However, she rejected him again, got up and went home.
The two also worked together on "So You Think You Can Dance"
In 2015, she also witnessed Lythgoe assaulting her assistant April. He had also tried to grope her, to which her colleague had not consented. Abdul had spoken to her colleague on the phone about his misconduct, but he had shown no understanding. Although he knew that his assaults were wrong, he had the power to silence them, said Lythgoe according to Abdul in this conversation.
Abdul also revealed that she had never spoken out publicly about the assaults because she feared revenge from the powerful TV personality. Her contracts stated that she was not allowed to disclose sensitive information about the shows and business matters. Abdul also worked with Nigel Lythgoe on "So You Think You Can Dance", the US version of the former Sat.1 show "You Can Dance". In 2015 and 2016, she even took part as a permanent jury member alongside him as joint judges.
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- Paula Abdul's lawsuit against Nigel Lythgoe also mentions an incident of sexual harassment during their travels for the first season of "American Idol", as reported by Rolling Stone.
- The accusations against Lythgoe include an incident at a hotel elevator during the filming of "American Idol" and another assault during a dinner at his house in 2014.
- Nigel Lythgoe, who worked closely with Abdul on "So You Think You Can Dance", has been accused of sexually harassing her assistant April in 2015 as well.
- Despite facing sexual harassment multiple times by Lythgoe, Paula Abdul had refrained from speaking out publicly due to fear of revenge and contractual obligations regarding sensitive information about the shows and business matters.
Source: www.stern.de
