American Idol’s Nigel Lythgoe faces second sexual assault lawsuit

Producer Nigel Lythgoe faces a second sexual assault lawsuit less than a week later Paula Abdul‘The allegations made headlines.

According to multiple media outlets, the new complaint was filed on Tuesday, January 2, by two participants who appeared on the 2003 competition show. All American girlwho looked for the ‘most versatile women’ in the country. The plaintiffs were identified as Jane Doe KG and Jane Doe KL, while Lythgoe, 74, was listed as John Roe NL (TMZ And Deadline have confirmed that Lythgoe is the suspect.)

The lawsuit alleges that Lythgoe drove the participants to a home in Los Angeles after filming of the reality series wrapped, instead of meeting others at a studio as originally planned. One of the accusers claims Lythgoe pushed her against a piano and pressed his tongue on her face despite her attempts to pull away.

Before wrapping filming, Lythgoe allegedly groped the participants on set and slapped their butts. (We weekly has contacted Lythgoe for comment.)

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The second set of allegations comes shortly after Abdul, 61, sued Lythgoe over alleged misconduct on the set of American Idolfor which he was producer until 2014. Abdul acted as a judge on the singing competition for the first eight seasons.

In her lawsuit, filed just before the new year, Abdul alleged that Lythgoe “verbally insulted and belittled” her and called her a “has-been” when they met to discuss her judgment position. She then alleged that Lythgoe sexually assaulted her in a hotel elevator while they were traveling for auditions during one of her “first seasons” of Idolclaiming that he “pushed [her] against the wall” and groped her.

Although Abdul did not mention the year of the first alleged encounter, she claimed that another incident occurred in 2014. Lythgoe allegedly invited Abdul to his home for dinner to discuss professional matters and “forced himself to get over it.” [her]’ and ‘tried to kiss her.’

According to the lawsuit, “Abdul pushed Lythgoe off her, explained that she was not interested in his advances and immediately left.”

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After her time IdolAbdul briefly joined the jury of So you think you can dance, where she allegedly witnessed Lythgoe sexually assaulting one of her assistants without consent. (Lythgoe is the creator and executive producer of the reality dance competition and also serves as a judge.)

Lythgoe denied Abdul’s allegations in a statement Us, noting that he was “shocked and saddened” by the allegations. “For more than twenty years, Paula and I have worked together as dear – and completely platonic – friends and colleagues,” he stated. “Yesterday, however, I learned of these claims in the press out of the blue and I want to be clear: not only are they false, they are deeply offensive to me and everything I stand for.”

He continued, “While Paula’s history of erratic behavior is well known, I cannot pretend to understand exactly why she would file a lawsuit that she must know is not true. But I can promise that I will fight this terrible slander with everything I have.”

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).