Singer Paula Abdul slammed former American Idol producer Nigel Lythgoe’s response to her sexual assault lawsuit against him as “classic victim shaming.”
“Mr. Lythgoe’s answer to Ms. Abdul’s complaint is classic victim shaming,” a Wednesday statement on behalf of Abdul from her legal team at Johnson & Johnson read, according to a report by TheWrap.
Abdul’s statement was reportedly in response to Lythgoe filing a suit in Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday, in which he dismissed the singer and reality TV star’s claims as “character assassination,” and described her as someone who had exhibited “drug-fueled erratic behavior.”
“Unfortunately for Lythgoe, today’s climate has turned the statutory presumption of innocence until proven guilty on its head,” the filing, which seeks to dismiss the lawsuit, read. “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,” Lythgoe’s complaint added.
Abdul’s Wednesday statement in response to Lythgoe’s filing continued, saying that the power dynamic between herself and the producer cannot be disregarded as claims of “character assassination.”
“He held the cards to her career in his hand and he knew it,” the statement from Abdul’s legal team argued. “It thus is no surprise that Ms. Abdul placated to his ego with positive messaging and seeming adoration. These are the defenses that many women like Ms. Abdul had to adopt to deal with men who abuse their power.”
In addition to her statement, Abdul also reportedly shared sexually aggressive text messages that Lythgoe had allegedly sent her in 2014, one of which read, “When you get back to L.A. will you please make love to me! Slowly and lovingly!”
After receiving no response from Abdul, Lythgoe sent a follow-up text, saying, “I’ll take that as a yes then!” In another text from 2014, Lythgoe allegedly asked Abdul for a “big wet kiss” with “tongues.”
Abdul filed a lawsuit against Lythgoe in December, claiming that he had sexually assaulting her in the early 2000s and in 2015, when she was a judge on the reality competition show American Idol. The suit also alleges that Lythgoe sexually assaulted her again around 2015, after she became a judge on So You Think You Can Dance.
Lythgoe has been accused of sexual assault four times in less than three months.
The former American Idol producer is also facing sexual assault allegations from two other women who filed a separate lawsuit in January, claiming that he had forcibly tried to kiss them after a 2003 wrap party when they were contestants on the competition series All American Girl.
The fourth sexual assault allegation came via a lawsuit filed on Tuesday — just hours after Lythgoe tried to refute separate allegations from Abdul — in which plaintiff Jane Doe alleges “sexual assault and battery” that she says was “so traumatizing,” that she no longer feels like the “confident, capable, and independent woman that she was” before the 2018 incident.
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