The gloves have come off for Paula Abdul.
As you know, the 61-year-old singer filed a bombshell lawsuit against the TV producer Nigel Lythgoe in December, claiming he had sexually assaulted her twice. The first alleged assault happened during “one of Idol‘s initial seasons,” and the second one occurred at some point during her two seasons as a So You Think You Can Dance judge. Nigel has gone on to deny the accusations. (FYI, he has been hit with three other sexual assault lawsuits since then) He even filed a legal response to her lawsuit this week, including emails and posts he believes prove they had nothing but a friendly relationship between them.
Related: Nigel Lythgoe Said He ‘Wanted To Be The Next Person To Abuse’ Paula Abdul Years Ago
In the legal documents obtained by TMZ, Nigel bashed Paula as a “well-documented fabulist, with a long history of telling wild stories that are untethered from reality and are primarily designed to attract attention and make Abdul appear to be the victim of dreadful misfortune.” Yeesh. The response featured several private emails, messages, and posts the pop star allegedly sent him that featured “adoring” language. For instance, one message sent on September 12, 2014 read:
“Hi sweetheart — thank you for this lovely ‘gift.’ Please forgive me for not calling yesterday. Forever grateful to have you in my life! Love, love LOVE YOU! XO P.”
Another sent on June 20, 2014, said:
“Thank you for the beautiful flowers — they were exquisite! But, I have to say the kicker was the birthday card last night. I am still howling! I truly appreciate our friendship and am looking forward to launching our project.”
His response cites other examples of Paula publicly speaking kindly about him, between 2009 and 2015. She tweeted his @dizzyfeet handle one Thanksgiving, “I’m grateful that I met you too, Nigel!” With all of this in mind, Nigel feels these messages “show how Abdul really felt about Lythgoe during and after the time she now alleges abuse occurred.” He asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit and to have Paula cover his attorney fees.
But now, Paula is firing back at Nigel! Her attorney Melissa Eubanks slammed the dance competition judge for victim-shaming his former co-worker while failing to recognize the power he had over her career:
“He held the cards to her career in his hand and he knew it.”
As for the emails? The lawyer explained that the messages in his legal response were simply Paula placating his ego with “positive messaging and seeming adoration … defenses that many women like Ms. Abdul had to adopt to deal with men who abuse their power.” And her legal team pulled out some receipts of their own, too! Paula claims to have several text messages showing blatant sexual harassment from Nigel. She alleges the producer texted her on March 8, 2014, writing:
“When you get back to LA will you please make love to me! Slowly and lovingly!”
When Paula didn’t respond at the time, Nigel added:
“I’ll take that as a YES then!”
On April 10, 2014, Paula messaged him about SYTYCD auditions in Las Vegas — and he had a totally inappropriate response! He replied:
“I’ll come if you promise a big wet kiss! With tongues! Is a small grope of the ass asking too much?”
It wasn’t until several months later, in July 2014, Paula claims Nigel admitted he was out of line when he texted her. But he attempted to brush off the situation, saying:
“You love me like a relation I love you like a girlfriend. I could easily be your f**king cousin? Ha Ha.”
At this time, Nigel has not addressed the latest accusations from Paula. But this legal battle between them is certainly getting heated. Reactions? Let us know in the comments below.
[Image via Jennifer Hudson Show/YouTube, MEGA/WENN]
