03 January 2024 , 20:53
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Two former contestants of a US reality game show are suing British TV executive Nigel Lythgoe over alleged sexual assault.
Three women have now made claims against Mr Lythgoe after American singer Paula Abdul accused the 74-year-old last week of similar conduct, which he has strenuously denied.
The new lawsuit claims Mr Lythgoe “openly groped” the two women on All American Girl in 2003 and made unwanted advances after the show ended. One of the women alleges that he pulled his sweater over her head and attempted to kiss her. The other accuses him of pinning her against a piano and forcing his tongue on to her face as she tried to pull away.
The alleged victims have filed a sexual assault, sexual harassment and negligence civil suit over an alleged attack in May 2003. Both lawsuits were filed under California’s Sexual Abuse and Cover-Up Accountability Act, which created a one-year window for lawsuits that would otherwise be too old under the state’s statute of limitations.
Lythgoe with Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul (Getty Images)The window closed on Sunday. While Ms Abdul’s lawsuit was filed two days before the deadline, the latest claim was presented to the court on Tuesday – two days after the law expired. This means a judge might not allow it to proceed. Mr Lythgoe was an executive producer of Pop Idol and American Idol, on which Ms Abdul, 61, was a judge. He has also acted as an on-screen judge on several talent programmes himself.
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He was also a producer of All American Girl, a reality show which ran for one series. Former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell was one of three coaches who worked on the show.
Ms Abdul, who scored UK top 10 hits with Straight Up and Opposites Attract in the late 80s, claims the alleged assaults happened while the pair worked together on American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance.
Her lawsuit claims Mr Lythgoe touched her breasts and genitals in an elevator and “shoved his tongue down her throat”.
On learning of the lawsuit against him, Mr Lythgoe said: “To say that I am shocked and saddened by the allegations made against me by Paula Abdul is a wild understatement.
“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 behaviour is well known, I can’t pretend to understand why she would file a lawsuit that she must know is untrue. But I can promise I will fight this appalling smear with everything I have.”