2 Women Do as Paula Abdul Did, Sue Nigel Lythgoe

UPDATE Jan 3, 2024 12:00 PM CST

Former American Idol producer Nigel Lythgoe has been hit with an additional sexual assault suit days after Paula Abdul made headlines by filing one of her own. On Tuesday, former All American Girl contestants Jane Doe K.G. and Jane Doe K.N. accused Lythgoe—identified as John Roe N.L.—of sexually assaulting and harassing them in May 2003. TMZ reports they allege he "openly swatted and groped" their butts in their dressing rooms and that after the finale of the Lythgoe-produced show, which ran for a single season on ABC, he drove them to his LA home rather to a group gathering. There, they allege he "made sexual advances" to both of them without their consent, reports USA Today. Deadline notes, however, that their filing comes after the Dec. 31 cutoff to file suits under California's Sexual Abuse and Cover-Up Accountability Act.

Dec 30, 2023 10:00 AM CST

Days before the closing of California's lookback window that allows survivors to sue for sexual assault regardless of when it occurred, Paula Abdul is suing her former boss under the law. Abdul says Nigel Lythgoe, the producer behind American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance, sexually assaulted her during her time as a judge on both of those shows, Deadline reports. Early in her days on Idol, Abdul says Lythgoe pushed her against a wall, groped her, and tried to kiss her while they were in an elevator together. Years later, in 2015 while she was appearing on SYTYCD, she says Lythgoe invited her to his place to talk about work opportunities and while she was there, he climbed atop her and again tried to kiss her as she sat on his couch, TMZ reports.

She says he once called and "taunted her that they should celebrate because it had been 'seven years and the statute of limitations had run,'" the lawsuit says, stating, "Lythgoe clearly knew that his assaults of Abdul were not just wrong but that he held the power to keep her silent." She says that while she told one of her reps about at least the first alleged incident, she did not report either for fear of retaliation.

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Her lawsuit also accuses Lythgoe and various production companies named in the suit of discriminating against her in terms of compensation, and says she was subjected to "constant taunts, bullying, humiliation, and harassment" on the set of Idol. She also says she witnessed Lythgoe assaulting one of his assistants when she worked on SYTYCD. California's lookback window closes Sunday. (More Paula Abdul stories.)