Nigel Lythgoe Sued by New Accuser, Hours After Slamming Paula Abdul

On the same day Nigel Lythgoe answered Paula Abdul’s sexual assault complaint, calling the singer and former American Idol judge a “fabulist,” the embattled TV producer was hit with yet another lawsuit — this time from a Jane Doe accuser claiming he sexually battered her at his home in 2018.

The new accuser claims she first met Lythgoe in 2003 at a professional event and was at his home in April 2018 for a “professional” meeting when he allegedly pounced without warning. “After a few minutes of professional discourse, Lythgoe suddenly forced plaintiff against the property’s exterior side wall by shoving his knee between her legs and then started licking plaintiff’s neck, touching her genitalia and groping her all over. Plaintiff tried to push Lythgoe away from her but he had her pinned against the wall so that she could not move,” the partially redacted complaint filed Tuesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court alleges.

The new accuser claims she eventually broke free from Lythgoe and fled the property before pulling over in her car about a block away. “Plaintiff then sat in her car shaking and crying for approximately thirty minutes before she was able to drive the remainder of the way home,” the filing states. Doe says the alleged incident left her felling “horribly violated” and that she has suffered “severe emotional and psychological distress, guilt, humiliation and embarrassment.”

A representative for Lythgoe had no immediate comment Tuesday. The new lawsuit comes after Abdul sued Lythgoe in December, alleging he attacked her in an elevator during one of American Idol’s initial seasons.

“Lythgoe shoved Abdul against the wall, then grabbed her genitals and breasts, and began shoving his tongue down her throat,” that suit claims. “Abdul attempted to push Lythgoe away from her. When the doors to the elevator for her door opened, Abdul ran out of the elevator and to her hotel room. Abdul quickly called one of her representatives in tears to inform them of the assault.”

Lythgoe denied Abdul’s allegations in a statement at the time, calling them an “appalling smear.” In early January, he was sued again by two Jane Does who claimed he forced himself on them while they were contestants on his 2003 reality game show, All American Girl. A third lawsuit reportedly was filed last month with a Jane Doe accuser alleging Lythgoe forcibly touched her in a car in 2016. A lawyer for Lythgoe told Rolling Stone that the alleged car incident “never occurred.” 

In his 22-page answer to Abdul’s lawsuit filed Tuesday, Lythgoe, 74, called her allegations “false, despicable, intolerable, and life-changing.” He included excerpts from purported personal emails dating back to 2014 and 2015 in which Abdul allegedly expressed warm feelings toward him and called him “sweetheart.”

“These allegations are the worst form of character assassination,” his filing obtained by Rolling Stone states. “Abdul is a well-documented fabulist, with a long history of telling wild stories that are untethered from reality and are primarily designed to attract attention and make Abdul appear to be the victim of dreadful misfortune. True to form, Abdul’s accusations about Lythgoe are pure fiction.”

In the filing, Lythgoe alleges Abdul appeared on TV during her time on American Idol and fabricated a story about suffering injuries in a plane crash in 1992. “Supposed details about this alleged crash have changed countless times over the years, but, in every instance, Abdul’s representations about that supposed plane crash have been implausible,” his filing claims. “There are no records whatsoever of the supposed plane crash.”

Rolling Stone‘s attempts to reach Abdul’s lawyer were not immediately successful on Tuesday. Lythgoe, co-creator of So You Think You Can Dance and executive producer since the show first aired in 2005, stepped down from his post on the show following the initial two lawsuits accusing him of sexual misconduct. Producers later announced that JoJo Siwa, who served as a judge on the show in 2022, would be replacing Lythgoe and returning as a judge for the upcoming season.

On the same day Nigel Lythgoe answered Paula Abdul’s sexual assault complaint, calling the singer and former American Idol judge a “fabulist,” the embattled TV producer was hit with yet another lawsuit — this time from a Jane Doe accuser claiming he sexually battered her at his home in 2018.

The new accuser claims she first met Lythgoe in 2003 at a professional event and was at his home in April 2018 for a “professional” meeting when he allegedly pounced without warning. “After a few minutes of professional discourse, Lythgoe suddenly forced plaintiff against the property’s exterior side wall by shoving his knee between her legs and then started licking plaintiff’s neck, touching her genitalia and groping her all over. Plaintiff tried to push Lythgoe away from her but he had her pinned against the wall so that she could not move,” the partially redacted complaint filed Tuesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court alleges.

The new accuser claims she eventually broke free from Lythgoe and fled the property before pulling over in her car about a block away. “Plaintiff then sat in her car shaking and crying for approximately thirty minutes before she was able to drive the remainder of the way home,” the filing states. Doe says the alleged incident left her felling “horribly violated” and that she has suffered “severe emotional and psychological distress, guilt, humiliation and embarrassment.”

A representative for Lythgoe had no immediate comment Tuesday. The new lawsuit comes after Abdul sued Lythgoe in December, alleging he attacked her in an elevator during one of American Idol’s initial seasons.

“Lythgoe shoved Abdul against the wall, then grabbed her genitals and breasts, and began shoving his tongue down her throat,” that suit claims. “Abdul attempted to push Lythgoe away from her. When the doors to the elevator for her door opened, Abdul ran out of the elevator and to her hotel room. Abdul quickly called one of her representatives in tears to inform them of the assault.”

Lythgoe denied Abdul’s allegations in a statement at the time, calling them an “appalling smear.” In early January, he was sued again by two Jane Does who claimed he forced himself on them while they were contestants on his 2003 reality game show, All American Girl. A third lawsuit reportedly was filed last month with a Jane Doe accuser alleging Lythgoe forcibly touched her in a car in 2016. A lawyer for Lythgoe told Rolling Stone that the alleged car incident “never occurred.” 

In his 22-page answer to Abdul’s lawsuit filed Tuesday, Lythgoe, 74, called her allegations “false, despicable, intolerable, and life-changing.” He included excerpts from purported personal emails dating back to 2014 and 2015 in which Abdul allegedly expressed warm feelings toward him and called him “sweetheart.”

“These allegations are the worst form of character assassination,” his filing obtained by Rolling Stone states. “Abdul is a well-documented fabulist, with a long history of telling wild stories that are untethered from reality and are primarily designed to attract attention and make Abdul appear to be the victim of dreadful misfortune. True to form, Abdul’s accusations about Lythgoe are pure fiction.”

In the filing, Lythgoe alleges Abdul appeared on TV during her time on American Idol and fabricated a story about suffering injuries in a plane crash in 1992. “Supposed details about this alleged crash have changed countless times over the years, but, in every instance, Abdul’s representations about that supposed plane crash have been implausible,” his filing claims. “There are no records whatsoever of the supposed plane crash.”

Rolling Stone‘s attempts to reach Abdul’s lawyer were not immediately successful on Tuesday. Lythgoe, co-creator of So You Think You Can Dance and executive producer since the show first aired in 2005, stepped down from his post on the show following the initial two lawsuits accusing him of sexual misconduct. Producers later announced that JoJo Siwa, who served as a judge on the show in 2022, would be replacing Lythgoe and returning as a judge for the upcoming season.