Entertainment
Paula Abdul gets a new trial date against accused attacker Nigel Lythgoe
Paula filed a lawsuit against Nigel in December 2023.
May 28, 2024, published at 11:38 am ET
Paula Abdul will have to wait even longer to face her accused attacker Nigel Lythgoe. Legal documents obtained by RadarOnline.com show that the Upright The singer’s sexual assault trial has been postponed from July 28, 2025 to August 25, 2025, after Lythgoe’s lawyers realized that someone from his legal team “will not be available during July and the first two weeks of August 2025.”
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The TV executive’s team denied a request on May 24, asking that the trial date be moved “on or after August 18, 2025” at its discretion. Abdul’s attorneys agreed, stating that there is “good cause, due to prior commitments and the unavailability of trial counsel, to move forward with the trial date,” while revealing that she is “in the process of settling her claims ” against all other defendants she named in her lawsuit.
The trial date for her sexual assault charge has been rescheduled.
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Judge Thomas D. Long signed an order that same day, officially moving the jury trial date to August 25, 2025. The final status conference, held to determine the length of the trial, was also moved from June 30, 2025 to August 11, 2025.
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As RadarOnline.com reported, Abdul filed a lawsuit against Lythgoe and the production companies behind it American Idol And So you think you can dance in 2023 for alleged sexual abuse/assault, sexual harassment, gender violence and negligence. She claimed that the television veteran assaulted her twice when they allegedly worked together on the reality competition shows once in an elevator and again at his home in LA.
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Lythgoe denied her allegations.
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Paula Abdul
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It was alleged that Abdul had settled with Lythgoe’s former defendants FremantleMedia North America and American Idols Production, reaching an undisclosed agreement. agreement with additional defendants 19 Entertainment and Dance Nation Productions earlier this year. When RadarOnline.com asked Abdul’s lawyer: Melissa Eubanksabout the situation, she told us, “That filing was in error and will be removed or corrected in the public record” — but that doesn’t appear to be the case based on the latest filing.
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Paula sued Nigel last year, claiming he sexually assaulted her twice during her appearances on “American Idol” and “So You Think You Can Dance.”
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Lythgoe has denied the allegations, calling Abdul’s claims “purely fictional” and accusing her of “character assassination.” He handled private correspondence between the two that took place after the alleged assaults in an attempt to suppress her allegations – but he wasn’t the only one with receipts.
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Abdul accused Lythgoe of “victim shaming,” claiming he “cherry-picked” emails from their private conversations to “discredit her claims.”
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RadarOnline.com broke the story – Abdul accused Lythgoe “victim shaming” her, claiming he “lifted” the emails from their private conversations to “discredit her claims.” RadarOnline.com too broke the story – to publish multiple text messages between the two, in which Lythgoe begged her to “jump naked in the pool with me” and “make love carefully before my drugs wear off.”
Lythgoe also faces lawsuits from at least three other accusers came forward with accusations against the SYTYCD managerial. He has since stepped down from his position on the competitive dance show.
