TV executive Nigel Lythgoe has issued a strenuous denial of sexual assault allegations made by his former colleague Paula Abdul.
The 74-year-old was an executive producer on Pop Idol and American Idol, the latter of which featured Abdul as a judge, and also created the competition So You Think You Can Dance, which starred both him and Abdul as judges.
Singer and dancer Abdul filed a lawsuit against her former boss in Los Angeles on Friday, alleging that in the early noughties he "grabbed her genitals and breasts" at a hotel.
According to TMZ, Abdul alleges that over a decade later, on a visit to his house, he ended the night by "forcing himself on top of her while she was on a couch... and trying to kiss her".
In a statement in response, Lythgoe said: "To say that I am shocked and saddened by the allegations made against me by Paula Abdul is a wild understatement. For more than two decades, Paula and I have interacted as dear - and entirely platonic - friends and colleagues.
"Yesterday, however, out of the blue, I learned of these claims in the press and I want to be clear: not only are they false, they are deeply offensive to me and to everything I stand for.
"While Paula's history of erratic behaviour is well known, I can't pretend to understand exactly why she would file a lawsuit that she must know is untrue. But I can promise that I will fight this appalling smear with everything I have."
Abdul is making the claims under California's Sexual Abuse and Cover Up Accountability Act, which for a limited time allows claims to be made that otherwise would have been ineligible due to their historic nature.
Neil Wilkes
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