American Idol/SYTYCD producer Nigel Lythgoe hit with a second sexual assault lawsuit
Follow up to this post.
After Paula Abdul filed a sexual assault lawsuit against Nigel Lythgoe last Friday, two more women have come forward with a separate lawsuit which alleges that he sexually assaulted them while filming the 2003 reality show All American Girl. The women are suing both Lythgoe and his production company for sexual assault and battery, sexual harassment, gender violence, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligence under California's Sexual Abuse and Cover Up Accountability Act, which allows sexual assault suits to be filed after the statute of limitations has passed.
The lawsuit alleges that Nigel, who was a producer of All American Girl, “walked around the set and dressing rooms and openly swatted and groped [their] and other contestants’ buttocks” while the women were in dance costumes. The suit also claims that “employees, contractors, representatives and agents saw this happen but did not act in any manner to condemn the action or prevent it from happening again. It was openly accepted.”
According to the documents, Nigel took “an unusual interest” in one of them at the wrap party and insisted that she ride in his car to go back to the studio. The other woman saw this and said she decided to go with them to ensure the first woman was not left alone with him. Instead of driving them back to the studio to join the rest of the cast, he took them to his Los Angeles home and allegedly made sexual advances, which they said they rejected.
While at his house, he allegedly [sensitive content]lifted his sweater over one woman’s head and “engulfed her in his sweater, attempting to kiss her and pushing her body close to his.” The lawsuit also says he pinned the other woman against a grand piano, "pushed himself against her body and forced his mouth and tongue onto her.”
Apparently All American Girl wasn't a very popular reality show because it only lasted one season so I wasn't able to find a lot of info about it, but the contestants listed on IMDB were born between 1981 and 1984 so they were 18-22 years old at the time. Nigel turned 54 the year that the show was filmed.
Note 1: there are specific requirements about who can file lawsuits under this act, and it appears that this lawsuit was filed on January 2, which was after the December 31 deadline.
Note 2: A January 2015 Us Weekly interview with Nigel and Paula has resurfaced (just before she joined SYTYCD as a judge).
Nigel: I was always an admirer of Paula back in the UK before I came here, and to be able to work with her [as an executive producer] on Idol for all those years and see how she was mistreated by Simon-
Paula: Abused!
Nigel: Abused and mistreated! I wanted to be the next person to abuse her some more.
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After Paula Abdul filed a sexual assault lawsuit against Nigel Lythgoe last Friday, two more women have come forward with a separate lawsuit which alleges that he sexually assaulted them while filming the 2003 reality show All American Girl. The women are suing both Lythgoe and his production company for sexual assault and battery, sexual harassment, gender violence, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligence under California's Sexual Abuse and Cover Up Accountability Act, which allows sexual assault suits to be filed after the statute of limitations has passed.
The lawsuit alleges that Nigel, who was a producer of All American Girl, “walked around the set and dressing rooms and openly swatted and groped [their] and other contestants’ buttocks” while the women were in dance costumes. The suit also claims that “employees, contractors, representatives and agents saw this happen but did not act in any manner to condemn the action or prevent it from happening again. It was openly accepted.”
According to the documents, Nigel took “an unusual interest” in one of them at the wrap party and insisted that she ride in his car to go back to the studio. The other woman saw this and said she decided to go with them to ensure the first woman was not left alone with him. Instead of driving them back to the studio to join the rest of the cast, he took them to his Los Angeles home and allegedly made sexual advances, which they said they rejected.
While at his house, he allegedly [sensitive content]lifted his sweater over one woman’s head and “engulfed her in his sweater, attempting to kiss her and pushing her body close to his.” The lawsuit also says he pinned the other woman against a grand piano, "pushed himself against her body and forced his mouth and tongue onto her.”
Apparently All American Girl wasn't a very popular reality show because it only lasted one season so I wasn't able to find a lot of info about it, but the contestants listed on IMDB were born between 1981 and 1984 so they were 18-22 years old at the time. Nigel turned 54 the year that the show was filmed.
Note 1: there are specific requirements about who can file lawsuits under this act, and it appears that this lawsuit was filed on January 2, which was after the December 31 deadline.
Note 2: A January 2015 Us Weekly interview with Nigel and Paula has resurfaced (just before she joined SYTYCD as a judge).
Nigel: I was always an admirer of Paula back in the UK before I came here, and to be able to work with her [as an executive producer] on Idol for all those years and see how she was mistreated by Simon-
Paula: Abused!
Nigel: Abused and mistreated! I wanted to be the next person to abuse her some more.
1 2 3 4