Ms. Abdul accused Mr. Lythgoe, the reality show producer, of abusing her in an elevator in a lawsuit she filed. The accusations, in his words, are “deeply offensive” and “false.”
Paula Abdul sued “American Idol” producer Nigel Lythgoe on Friday, claiming in the lawsuit that he had sexually assaulted her during her time as a judge on the reality show back in the early 2000s.
According to Ms. Abdul’s lawsuit, Mr. Lythgoe pushed her against a hotel elevator wall during one of the first seasons of “American Idol,” grabbed her breasts and genitalia, and started “shoving his tongue down her throat.” In the lawsuit, Ms. Abdul claimed that she had attempted to push Mr. Lythgoe away and that, crying, she had fled to her hotel room to call one of her representatives as soon as the elevator doors opened.
After developing an earlier version of the show in Britain, Mr. Lythgoe contributed to “American Idol” becoming a national phenomenon in the United States in 2002. He also created the television program “So You Think You Can Dance,” where he served as a judge for 16 seasons.
Mr. Lythgoe refuted the accusations in a statement released on Saturday, pledging to “fight this appalling smear with everything I have.”