Nigel Lythgoe denies the sexual assault accusations brought against him by Paula Abdul.
“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,” he says. “I can promise that I will fight this appalling smear with everything I have.”
Additionally, he further emphasized that he and Abdul were close, “entirely platonic friends, and colleagues.”
“To say that I am shocked and saddened by the allegations made against me by Paula Abdul is a wild understatement,” Lythgoe added. “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.”
The initial incident took place during an early season of American Idol, where Abdul claims he imposed himself on her in an elevator. The second incident allegedly occurred in 2015 while she was commencing work on ‘So You Think You Can Dance.’ During a business meeting at his residence, she asserts that he climbed on top of her and attempted to kiss her.
Abdul also alleges that in 2015, during her tenure as a judge on ‘So You Think You Dance,’ she witnessed Lythgoe groping one of his assistants.
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