A 12 months after suing him for sexual assault, Paula Abdul has reached a settlement with “American Idol” producer Nigel Lythgoe.
Abdul’s attorneys notified the courtroom on Thursday that the case had been resolved. Terms weren’t disclosed.
“I’m grateful that this chapter has efficiently come to an in depth and is now one thing I can now put behind me,” Abdul stated in a press release. “This has been an extended and hard-fought private battle. I hope my expertise can serve to encourage different girls, dealing with related struggles, to beat their very own challenges with dignity and respect, in order that they can also flip the web page and start a brand new chapter of their lives.”
In his personal assertion, Lythgoe stated he is aware of “the reality” of the allegations and is blissful to have the go well with over with.
“We dwell in a troubling time the place an individual is now routinely assumed to be responsible till confirmed harmless, a course of that may take years,” he stated. “That is why, like Paula, I’m glad to have the ability to put this behind me. I do know the reality and that provides me nice consolation.”
Abdul accused Lythgoe of groping her in an elevator about 20 years in the past, when she labored as a choose on “American Idol.” She additionally alleged {that a} decade later, when she was a choose on “So You Think You Can Dance,” Lythgoe invited her to his house after which compelled himself on her when she was sitting on a sofa, inflicting her to flee.
Lythgoe, 75, adamantly denied the claims, calling them an “appalling smear” and alluding to her “historical past of erratic conduct.”
He stepped down as a choose on “So You Think You Can Dance” in January, after a second go well with was filed accusing him of sexually assaulting two contestants on the short-lived competitors present “All American Girl.” JoJo Siwa changed him for the 18th season of “So You Think You Can Dance.” That lawsuit stays pending. A 3rd lawsuit was filed in March, by which a lady recognized as Jane Doe accused Lythgoe of sexually assaulting her at his house in 2018. Lythgoe misplaced a bid to throw out that lawsuit, and is interesting that call.
