TV producer Nigel Lythgoe has been sued by two reality show contestants for alleged sexual assault, amid his ongoing Paula Abdul lawsuit.
Paula has alleged he sexually assaulted her during one of the early seasons of American Idol, and then in 2014 while she was hosting So You Think You Can Dance.
In documents obtained by Rolling Stone magazine, the 61-year-old claimed the producer sexually assaulted her in an elevator of a hotel they were staying at while travelling for the singing show’s auditions.
According to court documents, obtained by PEOPLE, the American Idol producer now faces two more lawsuits as he is accused of negligence, sexual assault/battery, sexual harassment, gender violence, and intentional infliction of emotional distress by two contestants of the 2003 all-female reality competition show, All American Girl.
The suits were filed on Tuesday, against Lythgoe and an unnamed production company at the Superior Court of California in Los Angeles County and were identified as Jane Does.
The lawsuit alleges that Nigel would often interact with contestants and, on one occasion, “walked around the set and dressing rooms and openly swatted and groped Plaintiffs’ and other contestants’ buttocks,” while they were wearing dance costumes.
The women claim that his behaviour was “openly accepted,” as “employees, contractors, representatives, and agents saw this happen but did not act in any manner to condemn the action or prevent it from happening again.”
The lawsuit states that filming took place in Los Angeles from January 2003 to May 2003 and alleges that Lythgoe made unwanted “sexual advances” towards the women after a wrap party.
Lythgoe allegedly took an “unusual interest” in one of the women and “insisted” for her to “ride in his car to go back to the studio where everyone else was going” following the party. The other woman saw this and “decided to go with them to ensure her colleague was not left alone,” according to the lawsuit.
The former American Idol producer allegedly took the women to his Los Angeles home, where they claim to have rejected his advances.
The 74-year-old is alleged to have lifted his jumper over one woman’s head, “attempting to kiss her and pushing her body close to his,” who then allegedly “scrambled to release herself from his grasp.”
He allegedly pinned the other woman “against a grand piano in the house, pushed himself against her body, and forced his mouth and tongue onto her despite her numerous statements telling him not to and attempts to pull her face away from his,” later that same night.
Paula’s lawsuit claimed that during one of American Idol’s “initial seasons”: “Lythgoe shoved Abdul against the wall, then grabbed her genitals and breasts, and began shoving his tongue down her throat, Abdul attempted to push Lythgoe away from her.
“When the doors to the elevator for her door opened, Abdul ran out of the elevator and to her hotel room. Abdul quickly called one of her representatives in tears to inform them of the assault.”
The lawsuit claims Nigel sexually assaulted her again in 2014, when she was invited to his home for dinner.
The complainant said she only attended the dinner because she thought it was a “professional invitation”.
The suit claims: “Toward the end of the evening, 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’. Abdul pushed Lythgoe off of her, explaining that she was not interested in his advances and immediately left.”
Paula also explained why she did not speak out sooner, and said that she feared it would affect her contracts on both American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance, which would severely impact her earnings.
The singer also claimed that both of her contracts stated that she was “prohibited from publicly disclosing sensitive information” regarding the shows and their business affairs.
Alongside her complaints, Paula also alleged that she witnessed Nigel sexually assault one of her assistants on So You Think You Can Dance in 2015.
In the suit, Paula claimed that Nigel “approached Abdul and April from behind pressed himself up against April and began to grope her. April did not consent.”
The singer also alleged that the producer would often joke about his behaviour on the phone to her, and tease her about incidents that happened.
The suit read: “He clearly knew that his assaults of Abdul were not just wrong but that he held the power to keep her silent.”
Nigel Lythgoe produced American Idol from 2002 to 2014, and So You Think You Can Dance from 2005 to 2014.
In addition to the producer, the shows’ production companies American Idol Productions, FremantleMedia North America, 19 Entertainment, and Dance Nation Productions, were also all listed as defendants in the suit.
Goss.ie has contacted Nigel’s reps for a comment.
