TV producer Nigel Lythgoe has introduced that he’s stepping aside as a judge on So You Think You Can Dance after lawsuits accusing him of sexual assault, together with one from Paula Abdul.
Lythgoe can also be co-creator and government producer of the US dance competitors collection, whose 18th season is about to begin in March.
“I have informed the producers of So You Think You Can Dance of my decision to step back from participating in this year’s series,” Lythgoe stated in an announcement.
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“I did so with a heavy heart but entirely voluntarily because this great program has always been about dance and dancers, and that’s where its focus needs to remain. In the meantime, I am dedicating myself to clearing my name and restoring my reputation.”
The 74-year-old English-born Lythgoe has been a outstanding TV producer for many years in each the U.Ok. and the U.S., engaged on actuality competitors reveals together with “American Idol.”
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The singer and dancer Abdul alleged in a lawsuit filed Dec. 30 that Lythgoe twice assaulted her — first within the early 2000s when she was an American Idol judge and once more a few decade later when she was a judge on So You Think You Can Dance, which she left after two seasons.
Lythgoe referred to as the allegations an “appalling smear” that he intends to struggle.
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According to the criticism, Abdul alleges “Lythgoe shoved Abdul against the wall” of an elevator and proceeded to grope her and kiss her whereas the pair had been travelling for regional auditions for American Idol within the first incident.
“Abdul attempted to push Lythgoe away from her and let him know that his behaviour was not acceptable,” the criticism reads.
In the second incident, Abdul alleges that Lythgoe “forced himself on top of Abdul while she was seated on his couch and attempted to kiss her” when the entertainer was at a enterprise dinner at Lythgoe’s house in 2015.
She once more rejected his makes an attempt, explaining that she “was not interested in his advances,” having believed that the assembly at his home was of a purely skilled nature, in line with the criticism.
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