Nigel Lythgoe Faces Second Sexual Assault Suit

Gene Maddaus
·2 min read
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Nigel Lythgoe, the producer behind “So You Think You Can Dance” and “American Idol,” was hit with a second sexual assault suit on Tuesday, days after he was sued by Paula Abdul, who had worked as a judge on both shows.

In the new lawsuit, Lythgoe faces allegations from two contestants on “All American Girl,” a competition show that aired on ABC in 2003.

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The women, identified in the suit as Jane Doe K.G. and Jane Doe K.L., allege that the producer brought them to a house after the show’s wrap party and made sexual advances on both of them. One of them alleges that he pulled his sweater over her head and attempted to kiss her, while the other accuses him of pinning her against a grand piano and forcing his tongue onto her face as she tried to pull away.

The suit also alleges that earlier, during taping of the show, Lythgoe walked on set and swatted and groped the contestants’ buttocks.

Lythgoe is identified in the suit only as John Roe N.L. and the show is identified only by its initials, A.A.G. TMZ was first to identify Lythgoe as the defendant.

Lythgoe’s representative did not respond to a request for comment.

Abdul sued Lythgoe on Friday, alleging that he groped her and forcibly kissed her in an elevator about 20 years ago. She alleged that years afterward, Lythgoe invited her to his home and again tried to force himself on her while she was sitting on his couch.

Lythgoe denied Abdul’s allegations in a statement on Saturday, saying they were “false” and “deeply offensive.”

Both lawsuits were filed under California’s Sexual Abuse and Cover Up Accountability Act, which created a one-year window to file lawsuits that would otherwise be too old under the statute of limitations.

The window closed on Sunday, Dec. 31.

Abdul’s lawsuit was filed on Dec. 29, but the new lawsuit was not filed until Jan. 2. The plaintiffs’ attorney, Mike Arias, did not immediately respond to a question regarding the timeliness of the suit. (Update: Under the California Rules of Court, Rule 1.10, if a deadline falls on a weekend or a holiday, the deadline is extended to the next date on which court is open.)

The new lawsuit also states that one of the plaintiffs, Jane Doe K.G., was born in November 1997 — presumably a typo, as it would make her five years old at the time of the assault, and the Sexual Abuse and Cover Up Accountability Act applies only to adult victims.

The suit states claims of negligence, sexual assault and battery, sexual harassment, gender violence and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The suit was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court.

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