Nigel Lythgoe has firmly denied Paula Abdul’s sexual assault claims against him, nearly a year after their legal dispute was settled. The controversy centers around alleged incidents from their time working on “American Idol” and “So You Think You Can Dance.”

Abdul, now 63, had accused Lythgoe, 76, of misconduct during their tenure on these popular shows. The case was resolved last December, with Lythgoe expressing relief in a statement, emphasizing his awareness of “the truth” and his desire to move on from the allegations.

As the anniversary of the settlement approaches, Lythgoe continues to assert his innocence. In a recent encounter captured by TMZ at LAX, he was questioned about his reputation post-lawsuit.

“I don’t feel as though I need to rebuild anything. There was an accusation. Wasn’t true. What else can you do? You just have to say it wasn’t true,” he candidly explained to the cameraman.

TMZ published video of Lythgoe arriving into LAX over the weekend where he was asked about repairing his legacy after the lawsuit.

‘I don’t feel as though I might have to rebuild anything. There was an accusation. Wasn’t true. What else can you do? You just have to say it wasn’t true,’ he told the cameraman. 

Nigel Lythgoe has once again denied Paula Abdul’s allegations of sexual assault against him – almost a year after a lawsuit she filed against him over the accusations was settled; pictured 2013

Asked when he would repair his reputation, he said: ‘I think the people who know the truth. That’s important.’

Lythgoe also revealed he was now producing a movie and show.

‘Doing a movie which I don’t want to talk about at the moment. Doing another show,’ he continued.

‘It is not a dance show no but it’s something that I have done in the past,’ he clarified. ‘Wait and see.’

The Daily Mail has contacted representatives for Abdul for comment but have not yet heard back.  

The denial comes just under a year after Abdul settled her legal battle with Lythgoe. 

In a lawsuit filed in December 2023, Abdul alleged that Lythgoe had sexually assaulted her twice.

The allegations date from the 2000s, but Abdul said she kept silent until filing her claim in California last year ‘due to fear of speaking out against one of the most well-known producers of television competition shows’, court documents said. 

The first alleged incident was in the early 2000s when she was a judge on American Idol followed by another alleged assault a decade later when she was judging So You Think You Can Dance. 

She alleged the first sexual assault occurred while she and Lythgoe were filming auditions for American Idol, which launched in 2002.

Abdul, 63, accused Lythgoe, 76, of sexually assaulting during their time on the singing competition show American Idol and also on the dance reality competition show So You Think You Can Dance

Abdul claimed Lythgoe groped her in the elevator of their hotel after a day of filming and ‘began shoving his tongue down her throat’.

She also claimed in 2015 that Lythgoe had tried to force himself on top of her during a dinner that she assumed was professional at his house. 

Abdul also stated in the documents that he had also ‘attempted to kiss’ her while telling her that they would make an ‘excellent power couple.’ 

The lawsuit claims that Abdul ‘pushed him off, explaining she was not interested in his advances, and immediately left.’

In the documents, Abdul additionally claimed that she had witnessed Lythgoe unconsensually grope one of her assistants.

In a statement released at the time of the lawsuit, Lythgoe told TMZ: ‘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 behavior 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 later claimed in her first amended complaint that Lythgoe had assaulted her a third time, claiming it occurred in the same alleged instance involving her assistant, according to People.

TMZ reports that Abdul claimed that, after her assistant turned him down, Lythgoe had touched Abdul’s ‘buttocks, hips, waist and her breasts’ and also attempted to kiss her on the neck. 

According to People, Lythgoe’s attorneys entered a response to the amended complaint in which denied the allegations and said Abdul had ‘suddenly “remembered’ additional details’ which ‘stretches credulity that Abdul would supposedly remember witnessing her assistant allegedly being assaulted by Lythgoe in April 2015 and yet apparently ‘forget,’ until the filing of her FAC, that she also allegedly was assaulted at that same time — let alone be able to suddenly remember specific details of the alleged incident, as her FAC now allege.’

The lawsuit was subsequently settled in December 2024. 

At the time of the settlement, Grammy-award winning Abdul said in a statement to TMZ: ‘I am grateful this chapter has successfully come to a close and is now something I can now put behind me.’

Lythgoe and Abdul pictured on So You Think You Can Dance in 2015

In a statement at the time of the settlement, Lythgoe said he knew ‘the truth’ and was happy to put the lawsuit’ behind me’

Adding: ‘This has been a long and hard-fought personal battle. I hope my experience can serve to inspire other women, facing similar struggles, to overcome their own challenges with dignity and respect, so that they too can turn the page and being a new chapter of their lives.’

Lythgoe also told the outlet: ‘We live in a troubling time where a person is now automatically assumed to be guilty until proven innocent, a process that can take years. That is why, like Paula, I am glad to be able to put this behind me.’

‘I know the truth and that gives me great comfort,’ he said.