On December 29, Paula Abdul filed a case of her own in the courts against former American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance producer Nigel Lythgoe, as well as the show’s production companies. In documents obtained by Rolling Stone, Abdul accused Lythgoe of sexually assaulting her on several occasions during her time hosting each show.
Yesterday (December 30), Lythgoe reached out to TMZ to deny the allegations made by Abdul. Read his full statement below:
To say that I am shocked and saddened by the allegations made against me by Paula Abdul is a wild understatement. For more than two decades, Paula and I have interacted as dear — and entirely platonic — friends and colleagues. Yesterday, however, out of the blue, I learned of these claims in the press and I want to be clear: not only are they false, they are deeply offensive to me and to everything I stand for.
While Paula’s history of erratic behavior is well known, I can’t pretend to understand exactly why she would file a lawsuit that she must know is untrue. But I can promise that I will fight this appalling smear with everything I have.
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