AFPPaula Abdul
NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 06:42
The American singer and American Idolstar Paula Abdul has filed a lawsuit against British producer Nigel Lythgoe (74) for sexual assault. The artist says she was abused when the two worked together on two talent shows, American Idol in So You Think You Can Dance.
According to 61-year-old Abdul, who had several hits worldwide in the late 1980s, the first case of sexual assault occurred more than twenty years ago. Lythgoe allegedly attacked her in an elevator at the hotel where they were staying, but she decided to keep the incident quiet for fear of being sent away American Idol.
Allegations denied
The second incident happened more than ten years later. During a get-together at Lythgoe’s home, which Abdul thought was a business meeting, he assaulted her again and said they would make “a great power couple”, according to the American artist.
Abdul also says that she saw Lythgoe also harassing an assistant during the filming of So You Think You Can Dance.
Lythgoe has denied the accusations, reports entertainment website TMZ. He said he had a more than two-decade “platonic friendship” with Paula Abdul. “Out of the blue, I heard these claims from the media and I want to be clear: they are not only untrue, they are deeply offensive to me and everything I stand for.”
Abdul filed the lawsuit just in time to meet a deadline for reporting old cases under a special law against sexual abuse and covering them. That deadline expires on December 31.
2023-12-31 05:42:40
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