Paula Abdul accuses So You Think You Can Dance's Nigel Lythgoe of sexual assault

Paula Abdul issued a new lawsuit this week, accusing American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance executive producer Nigel Lythgoe of sexually assaulting her at multiple points during their many years of professional association. As reported by TMZ, the suit alleges that Lythgoe harassed and assaulted Abdul during her time on both series, as well as accusing him of taunting her about the potential expiration of the statute of limitations on some of the charges, saying he called her to say they should “celebrate” the 7 year-statute of one of the incidents being up.

In the suit, Abdul says the first incident occurred during one of the “initial” seasons of American Idol. (Abdul served as a judge on the show for its first eight seasons on Fox, from 2002 to 2009.) She says she and Lythgoe were on the road together for one of the show’s regular regional auditions when he tried to forcibly kiss and grope her while they were on an elevator. Abdul says she informed her reps about the incident, but decided not to go public with it out of fear of retaliation.

The second incident occurred during Abdul’s tenure on So You Think You Can Dance, where she accepted an invitation to Lythgoe’s home to talk over professional opportunities. Abdul alleges that Lythgoe then attempted to force himself on her while she was sitting on a couch, telling her they’d make an “excellent power couple,” and trying to kiss her. Abdul also alleges in the suit that she witnessed Lythgoe grope one of her assistants on So You Think You Can Dance, which she appeared on as a judge for its 12th and 13th seasons, starting in 2015.

Lythgoe, a professional choreographer as well as a TV producer, moved in front of the camera for So You Think You Can Dance, serving as the permanent judge for the first 16 seasons of the series.

Update: Lythgoe has now issued a statement in response to Abdul’s lawsuit: “To say that I am shocked and saddened by the allegations made against me by Paula Abdul is a wild understatement. 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.”