Paula Abdul Charge American Idol EP Nigel Lythgoe for Sexual Assault

                Paula Abdul Charge American Idol EP Nigel Lythgoe for Sexual Assault

Paula Abdul has filed a lawsuit against Nigel Lythgoe, alleging that he sexually assaulted her while they were co-workers on So You Think You Can Dance and American Idol. 

Paula Abdul has filed a lawsuit against Nigel Lythgoe, the former executive producer of American Idol, alleging that he sexually assaulted her while they were working together. 

A Los Angeles court received the papers on December 29 under the Sexual Abuse and Cover Up Accountability Act, which permits most civil suits in sexual assault cases to proceed after the statute of limitations has expired and whose filing deadline is December 31. The singer-choreographer served as a judge on the singing competition show from its 2002 debut until 2009.

In the document that E! News was able to access, Abdul, 61, describes two claimed instances of sexual assault by Lythgoe, 74. 

Representatives for both were contacted by E! News, but they did not respond. One of the claimed attacks happened in one of the first seasons of American Idol, the lawsuit claims, while Lythgoe and Abdul were traveling for the show's regional auditions. It claims that the producer touched and kissed the singer against her will when they were in a hotel elevator.