Paula Abdul Calls Out Nigel Lythgoe For “Classic Victim Shaming” In ‘SYTYCD’ Co-Creator’s Response To Her Sexual Assault Suit

While Mr. Lythgoe’s answer cherry-picks from years of messages with Ms. Abdul to try to discredit her claims, what his selections fail to show are the numerous instances of overt sexual harassment he forced Ms. Abdul to tolerate. On March 8, 2014, Mr. Lythgoe wrote to Ms. Abdul: “When you get back to LA will you please make love to me! Slowly and lovingly!” When Ms. Abdul failed to respond, Mr. Lythgoe proclaimed: “I’ll take that as a YES then!” On April 10, 2014, he similarly wrote, in response to a message from Ms. Abdul about SYTYCD auditions in Las Vegas: “I’ll come if you promise a big wet kiss! With tongues! Is a small grope of the ass asking too much?” In July 2014, Mr. Lythgoe even acknowledged the inappropriateness of his behavior to Ms. Abdul: “you love me like a relation I love you like a girlfriend. I could easily be your fucking cousin? Ha Ha”. There are several instances of such verbal assaults against Ms. Abdul, which are evidence of the frequent abusive behavior that Ms. Abdul was subjected to during her time on American Idol and SYTYCD.

In light of the undisputed facts summarized above that show how Abdul really felt about Lythgoe during and after the time she now alleges abuse occurred, Abdul’s wild and unsubstantiated allegations stretch credulity. After all, it was Lythgoe who fought for Abdul to be included in projects such as American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance, despite the industry’s hesitation to work with Abdul, in part due to the reputation she developed because of her drug-fueled erratic behavior. Based on the above, Abdul’s suit can only be explained as a ploy for long-ago lost relevance and fame and/or for unjustified profit ahead of her announced “Magic Summer” 2024 tour.

Unfortunately for Lythgoe, today’s climate has turned the statutory presumption of innocence until proven guilty on its head. In a matter of minutes, Abdul’s false allegations had a life-changing impact on Lythgoe. With little-to-no regard for the truth, without a fair trial, and without Lythgoe having an opportunity to tell his side of the story, and prove the falsity of hers, his life, the lives of his loved ones, and his reputation suffered substantial damage.

What’s worse, Abdul’s tactical campaign of deception through the telling of grotesque and defaming falsehoods was strategically designed to weaponize the climate against Lythgoe. With fabricated allegations dating back over 20 years, while standing on the shoulders of those the system was created to protect, Abdul has abused the legal process for her own personal and selfish gains. This, too, is intolerable.

During her time on American Idol, Abdul appeared on a television show and revealed for the first time that, in 1992, she had survived a plane crash. Of this crash, there is no record whatsoever. Supposed details about this alleged crash have changed countless times over the years, but, in every instance, Abdul’s representations about that supposed plane crash have been implausible, to say the least.

To begin, there are no records whatsoever of the supposed plane crash. In one interview Abdul explained that she was able to keep the story under wraps with NDAs and because “there was not internet at the time.” In another interview she explained that the time of the crash there were “no computers.”

It is, of course, highly implausible that there would be no record of a plane crash in the middle of a corn field with two major newly wed celebrities onboard (Abdul and her now ex-husband Emilio Estevez), other bloodied passengers, and an unconscious pilot, as Abdul claimed was the case. All instrumentation-equipped aircrafts are mandated to file a flight plan that includes time of takeoff and landing and to have a flight path approved by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Flights are tracked by FAA radar. Any flight disappearance from FAA radar triggers a search and rescue response. More plainly, when a flight is late or off course, Air Traffic Control uses radio communication to ask the pilot for an explanation and responds accordingly, including with search and rescue and mandatory incident/accident reporting by the FAA to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). The FAA reports all incidents and accidents to the NTSB. The fact that none of that required reporting and records exist is proof that Abdul simply made up the story about the crash.