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Nigel Lythgoe called Paula Abdul “erratic” when the former American Idol judge accused him of sexual assault late last year. Today, seeking to have Abdul’s complaint “dismissed in its entirety with prejudice,” the veteran competition show producer made it official with a filing of his own.
“Lythgoe will continue to promote the dissemination of truth – which confirms that Abdul is not a victim of sexual assault at the hand of Lythgoe, but it is Lythgoe who has been a victim of Abdul’s appalling lies,” he declared in a response filed Tuesday in LA Superior Court to the Grammy winner’s allegations.
Facing several other claims of sexual assault, the So You Think You Can Dance alum was accused on December 29 by co-star Abdul an incident in Idol’s early seasons back in the early 2000s and attacking her again in 2015 in a meeting over Season 12 of SYTYCD. In her jury trial seeking complaint, Abdul also alleged Lythgoe later cruelly taunted her that the statute of limitations had run out on one of the assaults. Additionally, Abdul says she saw Lythgoe assault one of his assistants at a Las Vegas Idol filming.
In a filing full of supposed fawning texts from Abdul to Lythgoe, the producer points the finger at Abdul’s mental health, modern morals and ticket sales as the real root cause of her literally and figurative complaint:
In light of the undisputed facts summarized above that show how Abdul really felt about Lythgoe during and after the time she now alleges abuse occurred, Abdul’s wild and unsubstantiated allegations stretch credulity. After all, it was Lythgoe who fought for Abdul to be included in projects such as American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance, despite the industry’s hesitation to work with Abdul, in part due to the reputation she developed because of her drug-fueled erratic behavior. Based on the above, Abdul’s suit can only be explained as a ploy for long-ago lost relevance and fame and/or for unjustified profit ahead of her announced “Magic Summer” 2024 tour.
Unfortunately for Lythgoe, today’s climate has turned the statutory presumption of innocence until proven guilty on its head. In a matter of minutes, Abdul’s false allegations had a life-changing impact on Lythgoe. With little-to-no regard for the truth, without a fair trial, and without Lythgoe having an opportunity to tell his side of the story, and prove the falsity of hers, his life, the lives of his loved ones, and his reputation suffered substantial damage.
What’s worse, Abdul’s tactical campaign of deception through the telling of grotesque and defaming falsehoods was strategically designed to weaponize the climate against Lythgoe. With fabricated allegations dating back over 20 years, while standing on the shoulders of those the system was created to protect, Abdul has abused the legal process for her own personal and selfish gains. This, too, is intolerable.
“Abdul’s lies are underscored by her conduct and statements during and after the time she alleges abuse occurred,” the filing from the firm of Elkins Kalt Weintraub Reuben Gartside LLP adds. Oddly referencing Abdul’s father going into the ICU, the performer “volunteering for Avon’s Brest Cancer Foundation, and pretty generic PR tweets (“what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas”) about SYTYCD, the material in Lythgoe’s response calls Abdul’s claims “lies.”
He actually says the admittedly sometimes kooky performer is “a well-documented fabulist, with a long history of telling wild stories that are untethered from reality and are primarily designed to attract attention and make Abdul appear to be the victim of dreadful misfortune.”
Plane crashes seem to be one such fictional misfortune in Lythgoe’s view.
During her time on American Idol, Abdul appeared on a television show and revealed for the first time that, in 1992, she had survived a plane crash. Of this crash, there is no record whatsoever. Supposed details about this alleged crash have changed countless times over the years, but, in every instance, Abdul’s representations about that supposed plane crash have been implausible, to say the least.
To begin, there are no records whatsoever of the supposed plane crash. In one interview Abdul explained that she was able to keep the story under wraps with NDAs and because “there was not internet at the time.” In another interview she explained that the time of the crash there were “no computers.”
It is, of course, highly implausible that there would be no record of a plane crash in the middle of a corn field with two major newly wed celebrities onboard (Abdul and her now ex-husband Emilio Estevez), other bloodied passengers, and an unconscious pilot, as Abdul claimed was the case. All instrumentation-equipped aircrafts are mandated to file a flight plan that includes time of takeoff and landing and to have a flight path approved by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Flights are tracked by FAA radar. Any flight disappearance from FAA radar triggers a search and rescue response. More plainly, when a flight is late or off course, Air Traffic Control uses radio communication to ask the pilot for an explanation and responds accordingly, including with search and rescue and mandatory incident/accident reporting by the FAA to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). The FAA reports all incidents and accidents to the NTSB. The fact that none of that required reporting and records exist is proof that Abdul simply made up the story about the crash.
Abdul’s lawyers did not respond to Deadline’s request for comment on Lythgoe’s LASC filing today. If and when they do reply, this post will be updated. Now the subject of three sexual assault claims, including Abdul’s, SYTYCD co-creator, lead judge and EP Lythgoe exited the Foix dance competition series in January
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