Paula Abdul And Nigel Lythgoe Settle Sexual Assault Lawsuit

Paula Abdul and Nigel Lythgoe have reportedly reached a settlement in their legal dispute.

As The Blast previously reported, the "Straight Up" singer had filed a lawsuit against "So You Think You Can Dance" producer Nigel Lythgoe, accusing him of sexual assault.

Legal documents obtained by The Blast detail allegations from Abdul, who claims that Lythgoe “verbally insulted and belittled” her multiple times before allegedly “sexually assaulting” her during one of the early seasons of "American Idol."

In addition to the sexual assault allegations, Paula Abdul also says Nigel Lythgoe discriminated against her.

According to court documents obtained by PEOPLE Magazine, Abdul and Lythgoe reached an "unconditional" settlement in their legal case on Monday, December 9. The case, in which Abdul accused the producer of sexual assault, had been moving toward a January 2025 hearing and an August 2025 trial date. Both dates are now expected to be vacated following the court’s order of dismissal.

The settlement follows a year after Abdul filed a lawsuit against Lythgoe, her former colleague on "American Idol" and "So You Think You Can Dance." In the suit, Abdul accused Lythgoe of sexually assaulting her on two separate occasions—once during the early seasons of "American Idol" and again during her time on "SYTYCD." She also alleged that Lythgoe sexually assaulted her assistant.

The legal documents, obtained by The Blast continued, “One evening, following the day’s auditions, Lythgoe and Abdul entered the elevator of the hotel where they were staying. Upon entering the elevator, Lythgoe shoved Abdul against the wall, then grabbed her genitals and breasts, and began shoving his tongue down her throat. Abdul attempted to push Lythgoe away from her."

"When the doors to the elevator for her floor opened, Abdul ran out of the elevator and to her hotel room. Abdul quickly called one of her representatives in tears to inform them of the assault," the docs continued.

When speaking to PEOPLE, Abdul expressed relief over the resolution and shared her hope that her story might inspire other women facing similar challenges.

"I am grateful that this chapter has successfully come to a close and is now something I can now put behind me," she said. "This has been a long and hard-fought personal battle. I hope my experience can serve to inspire other women, facing similar struggles, to overcome their own challenges with dignity and respect, so that they too can turn the page and begin a new chapter of their lives."

As The Blast previously reported, Abdul's lawsuit stated:

“Throughout her tenure on ‘American Idol,’ Abdul not only was discriminated against in terms of compensation and benefits as compared to one of the show’s male judges and host (making nearly pennies to the dollar of what one of her male counterparts were making), but she was the target of constant taunts, bullying, humiliation, and harassment from Lythgoe and other executives, agents, employees, and/or representatives of the show’s producers, 19 Entertainment and Fremantle.”

Abdul’s role as a judge on "American Idol" was a major success, drawing in millions of viewers and contributing to the show’s widespread popularity across multiple seasons. In fact, “during her tenure on the show, which spanned eight seasons from 2002 to 2009, viewership and ratings for the show skyrocketed, hitting their peak between Seasons 5 and 8. Tellingly, ratings and viewership began to sink almost immediately following Abdul’s departure from the show,” the documents state.

In his response to the lawsuit, Lythgoe questioned Abdul's credibility, citing past interviews in which she allegedly made contradictory statements about substance abuse and claimed to have been in a 1992 plane crash without providing evidence. In the filing, Lythgoe referred to Abdul as “a pathological liar and attention seeker.”

“She invents stories and then she doubles down, always working to make herself appear the victim,” it alleged. “Consistent with her past pattern of telling lies about incidents that allegedly happened to her, Abdul’s recent allegations against Lythgoe are pure fiction. There is only one victim here and that is Lythgoe, whose life and career have been decimated by Abdul’s lies.”

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, don't hesitate to get in touch with the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.