Look out, Nigel Lythgoe. Paula Abdul has receipts, and she’s not afraid to use them.
After being accused of sexual assault, Nigel and his legal team recently decided that disparaging Paula and attacking her credibility would be their best defense strategy. They just made headlines for shocking accusations about Paula’s “erratic behavior.” Essentially, they called her a known liar with a reputation for painting herself as a victim
Now, Paula says she’s got receipts, proof, and screenshots of her own. They don’t make Nigel look any better. TMZ reported all of the details.
Paula pushes back
In Nigel’s legal response, he shared examples of correspondence between him and Paula over the years, claiming it proved they had a positive relationship at the time of the alleged assaults. He shared texts, emails, letters, and any other communication he could get his fingers on, trying to prove they had a good friendship.
It doesn’t take a legal expert to read between the lines of what Nigel and his legal team were trying to do by attacking Paula’s character and producing these receipts. So, when her lawyer responded to Nigel’s accusations, they didn’t mince words. They called out the blatant victim-shaming.
Paula’s lawyer called out the fact that there was a power imbalance in their relationship, which adds important context to all of their communication. Paula’s team also accused Nigel of cherry-picking certain communication over the years that made him look good. In response, they shared texts that show a very different side of Nigel.
Nigel’s inappropriate texts
For example, in one message from March 2014, Nigel wrote to Paula and said, “When you get back to LA will you please make love to me! Slowly and lovingly!”
Allegedly, when Paula didn’t respond, he followed up with a second text and added, “I’ll take that as a YES then!”
In another text, Nigel and Paula talked about attending the So You Think You Can Dance auditions in Las Vegas. Nigel wrote, “I’ll come if you promise a big wet kiss! With tongues! Is a small grope of the ass asking too much?”
Paul’s receipts continued, but you get the gist. These aren’t the kinds of texts you’d want to get from your boss, and Paula’s lawyer called out the fact that Nigel was well aware of how he “held the cards to her career in his hand.”
Nigel hasn’t responded to Paula’s latest claims. He has maintained his innocence throughout this case. Either way, this battle is far from over, and it’s probably going to get nastier and nastier.
Meanwhile, the show that Nigel co-created, So You Think You Can Dance, is airing its 18th season on Fox. New episodes air on Mondays at 9/8c.
TELL US – WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE ALLEGED TEXTS FROM NIGEL TO PAULA? DOES THIS IMPACT HOW YOU VIEW SYTYCD?
