Paula Abdul and Nigel Lythgoe have settled their lawsuit.
According to court documents obtained by People, Abdul and Lythgoe settled the case in which she accused him of sexual assault.
The request was filed on Nov. 12 and a hearing was set for Jan. 21, 2025 with a trial date for August 2025, though both dates are expected to be vacated once the court orders the dismissal.
After the lawsuit was settled, Abdul released a statement to People. The 62-year-old singer says that she is happy that she can finally move forward and hopes to inspire other women to tell their stories.
"I am grateful that this chapter has successfully come to a close and is now something I can now put behind me. 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 begin a new chapter of their lives," she said.
The settlement comes a year after Abdul sued 75-year-old Lythgoe, who she worked with on American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance, alleging that he sexually assaulted her on two different occasions. She alleged one incident happened during the early seasons of American Idol while the other happened on So You Think You Can Dance. She also alleged that he sexually assaulted her assistant.
In October, Abdul submitted an amended complaint, which alleged that he assaulted her a third time during the same incident in which he allegedly assaulted her assistant.
Lythgoe's submitted response said that Abdul's claims are "vague both as to the timing of the alleged assault and as to the details of the supposed incident."
In the filing, Lythgoe included several text exchanges between him and Abdul, in which she expressed love for him and their friendship.
"It is unthinkable that Abdul would even tolerate Lythgoe's physical proximity, let alone send him adoring messages and sexually provocative jokes, if her allegations were true – which, clearly, they are not," his filing said.
He also went on to allege that Abdul was a "a pathological liar and attention seeker."
"She invents stories and then she doubles down, always working to make herself appear the victim. Consistent with her past pattern of telling lies about incidents that allegedly happened to her, Abdul's recent allegations against Lythgoe are pure fiction. There is only one victim here and that is Lythgoe, whose life and career have been decimated by Abdul's lies," it said.
Abdul's lawyers have since slammed his statements as "classic victim shaming."
Details of the settlement amount remain unclear at this time.
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