Nigel Lythgoe Claims Paula Abdul 'Concocted' Assault Allegations, Accuses Her of 'Character Assassination'

Nigel Lythgoe and Paula Abdul's court battle continues to intensify.

According to court documents obtained by RadarOnline.com, the television executive, 74, accused the American Idol judge, 61, of "character assassination" after she claimed he allegedly assaulted her on two occasions while working on the singing competition series and So You Think You Can Dance.

After Abdul alleged Lythgoe was inappropriate toward her in a hotel room after a taping of AI and once at his home while they were working together on the dance series, she filed her lawsuit under the Sexual Abuse and Cover Up Accountability Act, which went into effect on January 1, 2023. This allows alleged victims more time to take legal action in cases with expired statutes of limitations.

The U.K. native has now claimed the instances the pop star alleged took place "did not occur" and that they "continued to work together on several new ventures, as well as remaining personal friends."

In legal papers filed on Monday, April 15, Lythgoe, who also requested a jury trial, claimed Abdul "concocted" the accusations that "amount to an unjustified and baseless character assassination, with careless disregard for the statutory authority making these allegations untimely."

"Plaintiff attempts to revive her expired claims on the basis of the Sexual Abuse and Cover Up Accountability Act (the 'Act'), which went into effect last year and gives adult plaintiffs who satisfy certain criteria more time to file expired claims. However, the Complaint fails to allege facts necessary to come within the reach of that statute, and these defects are incapable of being cured," the court documents read.

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"Among other things, Plaintiff has not alleged a 'cover up' (nor could she) as required by the statute, and, with respect to the purported 2015 incident, she has not alleged a 'sexual assault' under that statute. Even assuming Plaintiff had met the requirements to revive a claim under the Act, which she did not, and cannot, do — she still could not revive her claims against Mr. Lythgoe, an individual defendant, on the basis of the alleged 2002 incident because only claims against entities can be revived under the provision," his attorneys continued.

Lythgoe and his team of lawyers noted they "will prove the falsity of these allegations and the Plaintiff's improper motives for bringing them."

In Abdul's lawsuit, the documents claimed "Lythgoe shoved Abdul against the wall, then grabbed her genitals and b------, and began shoving his tongue down her throat."

"Abdul attempted to push Lythgoe away from her," the filing continued. "When the doors to the elevator for her door 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.”