Nigel Lythgoe is strolling away from So You Assume You Can Dance after being accused of sexually assaulting a number of girls, together with singer Paula Abdul, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Lythogoe — who govt produces the competitors dance present — introduced that he will not take part on this 12 months’s version of the truth collection.
“I’ve knowledgeable the producers of ‘So You Assume You Can Dance’ of my choice to step again from collaborating on this 12 months’s collection. I did so with a heavy coronary heart however completely voluntarily as a result of this nice program has all the time been about dance and dancers, and that’s the place its focus wants to stay,” he stated on Friday.
The tv mogul vowed to combat the allegations towards him.
“Within the meantime, I’m dedicating myself to clearing my identify and restoring my popularity,” Lythgoe concluded.
As RadarOnline.com reported, Abdul sued Lythgoe for sexual assault final week, claiming the American Idol govt pressured himself on her throughout her stints as a choose on the singing competitors present in addition to SYTYCD.
The Straight Up singer included two alleged incidents within the lawsuit, one among which she claimed she advised her consultant about however didn’t go additional with the accusations out of concern of retaliation. Abdul additionally claimed that he referred to as her in some unspecified time in the future after the alleged incidents and “taunted” her by saying they need to rejoice as a result of it had been “7 years and the statute of limitations had run.”
Lythgoe denied Abdul’s allegations.
“To say that I’m shocked and saddened by the allegations made towards me by Paula Abdul is a wild understatement. For greater than 20 years, Paula and I’ve interacted as pricey – and fully platonic – buddies and colleagues. Yesterday, nevertheless, out of the blue, I realized of those claims within the press and I wish to be clear: not solely are they false, they’re deeply offensive to me and to all the pieces I stand for,” his rep advised RadarOnline.com.
“Whereas Paula’s historical past of erratic habits is well-known, I can’t fake to grasp precisely why she would file a lawsuit that she should know is unfaithful. However I can promise that I’ll combat this appalling smear with all the pieces I’ve.”
After Abdul got here ahead, Lythgoe was hit with a second lawsuit by two contestants from his short-lived competitors present All American Lady.
The ladies — who filed the swimsuit below Jane Doe pseudonyms — accused Lythgoe of exhibiting up on the set and within the dressing rooms the place he allegedly “overtly swatted and groped” their butts. They claimed that Lythgoe, a producer on the 2003 program, insisted that one of many women trip with him to the studio to fulfill the remainder of the forged after their wrap celebration. The second plaintiff alleged she rode with them to guard her buddy. As a substitute of taking them to the studio, Lythgoe’s accusers alleged he took them to his house, the place issues reportedly escalated.
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All three lawsuits fall below California’s Sexual Abuse and Cowl Up Accountability Act, which waives the statute of limitations on some sexual misconduct allegations.
Following the accusations, Deadline reported that Lythgoe was being investigated by Sony Photos TV’s 19 Leisure, which co-produces SYTYCD with Dick Clark Productions.