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Paula Abdul has filed a lawsuit against her former American Idol executive producer Nigel Lythgoe, in which she accuses him of sexually assaulting her during the time they worked together.
The singer-choreographer, who was a judge on the singing competition show from its 2002 debut until 2009, submitted the papers to a Los Angeles court Dec. 29 under the Sexual Abuse and Cover Up Accountability Act, which allows most civil suits in sexual assault cases to proceed after the statute of limitations has expired, and whose deadline for filing is Dec. 31.
In her filing, obtained by E! News, Abdul, 61, details two incidents of alleged sexual assault by Lythgoe, 74. E! News has reached out to reps for both and has not heard back.
According to the lawsuit, one of the alleged assaults occurred during one of American Idol‘s initial seasons, while Abdul and Lythgoe were on the road for the show’s regional auditions. It states that while the two were inside a hotel elevator, the producer groped the singer and kissed her without her consent.