Lower than a 12 months after Paula Abdul sued Nigel Lythgoe for sexual assault, the pair have agreed to achieve a settlement.

The “Rush Rush” singer and actuality TV decide, 62, and American Idol producer, 75, settled the case in an “unconditional” method on Monday, based on court docket paperwork obtained by PEOPLE. A listening to tied to the case beforehand set for Jan. 21, 2025, in addition to its August 2025 trial date, are each anticipated to be vacated as soon as the request, which was filed on Nov. 12, is permitted by a decide, the outlet experiences.

“I’m grateful that this chapter has efficiently come to an in depth and is now one thing I can now put behind me,” Abdul stated in a press release to Leisure Weekly concerning the settlement. “This has been a protracted and hard-fought private battle. I hope my expertise can serve to encourage different girls, going through related struggles, to beat their very own challenges with dignity and respect, in order that they can also flip the web page and start a brand new chapter of their lives.”

Representatives for Lythgoe didn’t instantly reply to Leisure Weekly’s request for remark.

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Abdul sued Lythgoe alleging sexual assault/battery, sexual harassment, gender violence, and negligence in a Dec. 29, 2023 lawsuit, claiming partially that Lythgoe sexually assaulted her throughout her time on American Idol within the early 2000s and once more when she starred as a decide on So You Assume You Can Dance. She additionally alleged that Lythgoe assaulted her assistant in 2015.

The lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court docket beneath California’s Sexual Abuse and Cowl Up Accountability Act, which permits survivors to take authorized motion even after the statute of limitations has expired. Abdul later submitted a revised lawsuit in October 2024, the place she claimed that Lythgoe additionally assaulted her for a 3rd time through the incident along with her assistant in 2015, PEOPLE experiences.

Lythgoe denied the allegations made towards him in a Dec. 30, 2023 assertion to EW, calling them “false” and “deeply offensive to me and to every thing I stand for.” He added, "Whereas Paula’s historical past of erratic habits is well-known, I can’t fake to grasp precisely why she would file a lawsuit that she should know is unfaithful. However I can promise that I’ll combat this appalling smear with every thing I’ve.”

His attorneys later filed a response in March denying Abdul’s allegations, which they known as "pure fiction" and the "worst type of character assassination,” per PEOPLE. In response, Abdul’s staff fired again at him in a press release to EW, calling his reply to her criticism “traditional sufferer shaming.”

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“Mr. Lythgoe fails to understand that he held a place of energy over Ms. Abdul. He was a producer on American Idol and SYTYCD and she or he was the expertise,” Abdul’s attorneys continued. “He held the playing cards to her profession in his hand and he knew it. It thus is not any shock that Ms. Abdul placated to his ego with optimistic messaging and seeming adoration. These are the defenses that many ladies like Ms. Abdul needed to undertake to cope with males who abuse their energy.”

Their authorized battle continued when Abdul filed her amended lawsuit towards Lythgoe in October, with Lythgoe later submitting a response that argued that the timing surrounding her claims was “obscure” and criticize how she “instantly 'remembered' extra particulars” of the alleged incidents, per PEOPLE.

In paperwork obtained by the outlet, Lythgoe added that her recollection “stretches credulity that Abdul would supposedly keep in mind witnessing her assistant allegedly being assaulted by Lythgoe in April 2015 and but apparently ‘overlook,’ till the submitting of her FAC, that she additionally allegedly was assaulted at that very same time — not to mention have the ability to instantly keep in mind particular particulars of the alleged incident, as her FAC now alleges.”

In January, Lythgoe stepped down from his judging duties on So You Assume You Can Dance after two nameless girls filed a separate sexual assault lawsuit towards him along with Abdul's. A 3rd lawsuit was filed in February and a fourth in March, with 5 girls in whole accusing Lythgoe of sexual assault.

For those who or somebody you already know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the Nationwide Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.

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