Nigel Lythgoe Leaves ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ Following Sexual Assault Lawsuit

Producer Nigel Lythgoe is stepping down from his judging and producing roles on So You Think You Can Dance amid lawsuits from Paula Abdul and two other women that detailed allegations that he sexually assaulted them. “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 said in a statement to Rolling Stone .

“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.” In a joint statement to Rolling Stone , Fox and the show’s producers 19 Entertainment and Dick Clark productions said that “the upcoming season of So You Think You Can Dance will proceed, although without Nigel Lythgoe, to ensure the show remains committed to the contestants, who have worked incredibly hard for the opportunity to compete on our stage.” The companies said they hadn’t made a decision on a replacement judge, and the show’s upcoming season will premiere in March.

Production company 19 Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Pictures, was also named as a defendant in Abdul’s suit. Abdul sued Lythgoe — a former executive producer of American Idol during the show’s run on Fox — last week, claiming that Lythgoe sexually assaulted her in a hotel elevator while they were traveling for one Idol’ s first seasons.

She further alleged that Lythgoe assaulted her again at his home years later in 2014 when she was a host on So You Think You Can Dance. Lythgoe denied the allegations, saying in a statement following the suit that he would “fight this appalling smear with everything I have.” Trending After Two Decades Undercover, She’s Ready to Tell the Real Story of Human Trafficking N.W.A, Donna Summer, Tammy Wynette to Receive Grammy Lifetime Achievement Awards Conspiracy Theorists Convinced ‘Shadow Aliens’ Are Loose in Miami Mary Kay Letourneau's Husband 'Offended' by 'May December' Days after Abdul’s suit, two Jane Doe accusers filed a suit of their own , alleging that he forced himself on them while they were contestants on his 2003 reality game show All American Girl ..