Abdul, Paula

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    ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ Judge Exits After Paula Abdul Lawsuit

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    Ms. Abdul accused Nigel Lythgoe, a longtime producer and judge on the reality show, of sexually assaulting her when they worked on “American Idol” together. He denied the accusation.Nigel Lythgoe has stepped down as a judge of “So You Think You Can Dance,” the show said on Friday, after he was sued by Paula Abdul and accused of sexual assault.Mr. Lythgoe, who has denied sexually assaulting Ms. Abdul, said in a statement that he was stepping down from the show that he had helped create “with a heavy heart but entirely voluntarily because this great program has always been about dance and dancers, and that’s where its focus needs to remain.”“In the meantime, I am dedicating myself to clearing my name and restoring my reputation,” Mr. Lythgoe, who was also a producer of the show, said in the statement.Variety was first to report Mr. Lythgoe’s exit.In the lawsuit, which was filed last month, Ms. Abdul accused Mr. Lythgoe of shoving her against the wall of a hotel elevator, grabbing her genitals and breasts and shoving his tongue down her throat in the early 2000s while she was a judge on “American Idol.” Mr. Lythgoe, who had been a producer for the show at the time, called the allegations “false” and “deeply offensive to me and to everything I stand for.”Mr. Lythgoe, 74, has been one of the faces of “So You Think You Can Dance” since he helped create the show in 2005. He had been among the producers who had made “American Idol” a phenomenon in the United States after an earlier iteration aired in Britain, and “So You Think You Can Dance” also proved to be a ratings success in its early seasons by following a similar format.Mr. Lythgoe, a commercial dance impresario, had been a judge on the show for 16 of its 17 seasons, providing on-air feedback to young contemporary, ballroom and hip-hop dancers. The show had been planning a return this spring with a new format and was going to team Mr. Lythgoe with new judges, including Maksim Chmerkovskiy, the “Dancing With the Stars” choreographer, and Allison Holker, a former contestant.The production companies behind the show, which include Dick Clark Productions and 19 Entertainment, and Fox, the network that airs it, said in a joint statement on Friday that the show would proceed without Mr. Lythgoe and would remain “committed to the contestants, who have worked incredibly hard for the opportunity to compete on our stage.” More

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      Paula Abdul Accuses Nigel Lythgoe of Sexual Assault During ‘American Idol’

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      Ms. Abdul filed a lawsuit against Mr. Lythgoe, a producer of the reality show, that accuses him of assaulting her in an elevator.Paula Abdul filed a lawsuit on Friday against Nigel Lythgoe, a former longtime producer of “American Idol,” accusing him of sexually assaulting her when she was a judge on the reality show in the early 2000s.In the lawsuit, Ms. Abdul says that during one of the early seasons of “American Idol,” Mr. Lythgoe shoved her against the wall of a hotel elevator, grabbed her genitals and breasts and began “shoving his tongue down her throat.” Ms. Abdul said in the lawsuit that she tried to push Mr. Lythgoe away, and that when the elevator doors opened, she ran to her hotel room and called one of her representatives in tears.Mr. Lythgoe helped turn “American Idol” into a phenomenon in the United States in 2002 after developing an earlier iteration of the show in Britain. He was also a creator of “So You Think You Can Dance,” on which he appeared as a judge for 16 seasons.Representatives for Mr. Lythgoe did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Saturday.Both Mr. Lythgoe and Ms. Abdul, who rose to fame as a choreographer and pop star in the late 1980s, became fixtures of American reality television as judges with the power to turn promising singers and dancers into stars. Ms. Abdul spent eight seasons on “American Idol,” entertaining viewers with her gushing commentary and playful rivalry with her fellow judge Simon Cowell.After leaving “American Idol,” Ms. Abdul was a judge on “So You Think You Can Dance,” working alongside Mr. Lythgoe in 2015 and 2016. She says in the lawsuit that Mr. Lythgoe again made advances during this time, while she was at his home to discuss work.“Lythgoe forced himself on top of Abdul while she was seated on his couch and attempted to kiss her while proclaiming that the two would make an excellent ‘power couple,’” the lawsuit said. “Abdul pushed Lythgoe off of her, explaining that she was not interested in his advances, and immediately left Lythgoe’s home.”The lawsuit, which was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, said Ms. Abdul did not speak publicly about the encounters because she feared retaliation from Mr. Lythgoe.Ms. Abdul is suing under a California law that allows people making sexual assault accusations to file claims outside the statute of limitations for a limited period of time.In her lawsuit, Ms. Abdul, 61, also accused Mr. Lythgoe, 74, of verbal harassment, saying that he called her at one point and told her they should celebrate because “it had been ‘seven years and the statute of limitations had run.’”Ms. Abdul also brought the lawsuit against production companies behind “American Idol” and “So You Think You Can Dance,” accusing them of negligence. Representatives for the shows and the production companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.When Ms. Abdul left “American Idol” in 2009, there was speculation that her exit was the result of disagreements about pay disparities with the show’s male faces.In her lawsuit, Ms. Abdul says that as a judge on “American Idol,” she was “discriminated against in terms of compensation and benefits.” She describes her relationship with the show’s producers and other judges as “strained from the start,” saying that she was the target of “constant taunts” from Mr. Lythgoe and others involved in the show and that selective editing made her appear “inept.”Mr. Lythgoe was a largely behind-the-scenes figure with “American Idol,” leaving as an executive producer of the show about a decade ago, but he has been center stage on “So You Think You Can Dance,” turning himself into a performing arts impresario and advocate for dance education. He is scheduled to return as a judge in the spring. More