Paula Abdul settles sexual assault lawsuit against Nigel Lythgoe

Paula Abdul has settled her sexual assault lawsuit against Nigel Lythgoe, the producer and TV personality behind American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance. Abdul's initial suit, filed last year, accused Lythgoe of assaulting her on two occasions, once during the early years of Idol and once while she was part of So You Think You Can Dance. The case, which was set to go to trial in 2025, has been settled in an "unconditional" manner, according to People. 

"I am grateful that this chapter has successfully come to a close and is now something I can now put behind me," Abdul said in a statement to the outlet. "This has been a long and hard-fought personal battle. I hope my experience can serve to inspire other women, facing similar struggles, to overcome their own challenges with dignity and respect, so that they too can turn the page and begin a new chapter of their lives."

In addition to the two assaults in her suit, Abdul had further accused Lythgoe of assaulting her assistant; she later amended her suit to add a third allegation of assault during the same incident with her assistant, per People. Lythgoe denied all of Abdul's accusations. His team argued (based on Abdul's past public remarks) that the pop star was a "pathological liar and attention seeker." He further tried to paint her testimony as untrustworthy by submitting friendly communications between the two to court. 

Outside Abdul's allegations, four other sexual assault lawsuits have been filed against Lythgoe. He was dismissed as a defendant in a lawsuit brought by two contestants from the short-lived competition series All American Girl because the California statute the suit was filed under applies to corporate entities only—the suit will move forward against the production company, not Lythgoe himself. (“Today was a good day. We’ve always said that these claims were meritless and now the Court has agreed. I hope and expect that this will be the first of many similar wins as I continue to fight to clear my name,” Lythgoe said in a statement sent to Rolling Stone after the ruling.) Still pending are a suit alleging Lythgoe groped, kissed, and digitally penetrated a third woman in his chauffeured car in 2016, and another suit claiming Lythgoe sexually battered a fourth woman at his home in 2018.