Paula Abdul took legal action recently, reporting two separate incidents of alleged sexual assault by Nigel Lythgoe, the famed producer behind such reality competitions as American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance. After the veteran dancer detailed the supposed encounters in a lawsuit, a 2015 interview with her and Lythgoe has resurfaced, drawing attention for one of Lythgoe’s comments, in which he joked about wanting to “abuse” the “Straight Up” singer.
Paula Abdul and Nigel Lythgoe worked together on the early seasons of American Idol, on which the ‘80s pop star served on the judging panel alongside Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson. Lythgoe, a producer on the singing competition, later reconnected with Abdul when she joined him as a judge on So You Think You Can Dance. The two spoke about their professional history with US Weekly back then with Lythgoe saying:
