Nigel Lythgoe Investigated by ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ Production Company Amid Sexual Assault Lawsuits

Nigel Lythgoe is the subject of a probe helmed by Sony Pictures Television’s 19 Entertainment, which co-produces “So You Think You Can Dance” with Dick Clark Productions, Variety and Deadline have reported.

Last month, Paula Abdul sued the former American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance producer and the show’s production companies, alleging that Lythgoe sexually assaulted her multiple times while she was hosting the shows. In the suit, Abdul alleged that Lythgoe sexually assaulted her during one of American Idol’s initial seasons, then again in 2014 when she was hosting So You Think You Can Dance.

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Lythgoe and 19 Entertainment are listed as defendants, along with American Idol Productions, Dance Nation Productions, and Fremantlemedia North America.

A representative for Sony did not immediately respond to Rolling Stone’s request for comment.

“Lythgoe shoved Abdul against the wall, then grabbed her genitals and breasts, and began shoving his tongue down her throat,” the suit claimed. “Abdul attempted to push Lythgoe away from her. When the doors to the elevator for her door opened, Abdul ran out of the elevator and to her hotel room. Abdul quickly called one of her representatives in tears to inform them of the assault.”

Lythgoe later denied the allegations in a statement published Dec. 30. “To say that I am shocked and saddened by the allegations made against me by Paula Abdul is a wild understatement,” Lythgoe said. “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.”

Days after Abdul’s lawsuit dropped, Lythgoe was hit with a separate suit from two All American Girl contestants who alleged he forced himself on them while they were on his 2003 reality game show.

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