Paula Abdulappeared downcast as she exited her lawyer's office after filing an explosive lawsuit against Nigel Lythgoe, accusing the television mogul of sexually assaulting her during her time on American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance.
Just hours after releasing private and overly sexual text messages allegedly from Lythgoe to RadarOnline.com, Abdul reappeared in public on Friday.
The Straight Up singer, 61, seemed upset when she left the building and appeared to have red, glossy eyes as if she'd been crying. Abdul kept it chic in a black dress, tights, and booties. She accessorized her ensemble with an oversized belt that had hardware features.
The superstar clutched her purse tightly while departing her attorney's office.
Abdul tried to conceal her face when she noticed reporters, covering her puffy eyes with cat-eye sunglasses. The former Idol and SYTYCD judge stayed quiet when asked about her lawsuit against Lythgoe.
In the video obtained by Daily Mail, she jumped into the passenger seat of an awaiting SUV and drove off without uttering a word.
Abdul sued Lythgoe in December 2023, accusing him of sexual assault on two separate occasions while filming the reality shows. RadarOnline.com broke the story — the Opposite's Attract singer Lythgoe of "victim shaming" her when she exposed her private emails in his response to her lawsuit.
"While Mr. Lythgoe’s answer cherry-picks from years of messages with Ms. Abdul to try to discredit her claims, what his selections fail to show are the numerous instances of overt sexual harassment he forced Ms. Abdul to tolerate," her attorney, Melissa Eubanks, told us on Wednesday.
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Abdul also released several text messages that Lythgoe allegedly sent her after the alleged assaults.
According to the attorney, "On March 8, 2014, Mr. Lythgoe wrote to Ms. Abdul: 'When you get back to LA will you please make love to me! Slowly and lovingly!' When Ms. Abdul failed to respond, Mr. Lythgoe proclaimed: 'I’ll take that as a YES then!'"
One month later, Lythgoe allegedly sent another inappropriate message.
"On April 10, 2014, he similarly wrote, in response to a message from Ms. Abdul about SYTYCD auditions in Las Vegas: 'I’ll come if you promise a big wet kiss! With tongues! Is a small grope of the a-- asking too much?'"
Since Abdul's claims, three other women have stepped forward with accusations against Lythgoe. He has denied the allegations against him and has vowed to fight to clear his name.