Nigel Lythgoe is stepping down as a decide on “So You Assume You Can Dance,” after two lawsuits accused him of sexual assault.

Lythgoe, an govt producer of the present, is accused of groping and forcibly kissing Paula Abdul in an elevator about 20 years in the past. In a second lawsuit, two contestants on “All American Woman” additionally accused him of forcibly attempting to kiss them after a wrap celebration in 2003.

“I’ve knowledgeable the producers of ‘So You Assume You Can Dance’ of my determination to step again from collaborating on this yr’s collection,” Lythgoe stated in a press release to Selection. “I did so with a heavy coronary heart however totally voluntarily as a result of this nice program has all the time been about dance and dancers, and that’s the place its focus wants to stay. Within the meantime, I’m dedicating myself to clearing my identify and restoring my popularity.”

Lythgoe, 74, has been a decide on “So You Assume You Can Dance” because it started in 2005. The 18th season is because of premiere on Fox on March 4. Allison Holker and Maksim Chmerkovskiy have additionally been introduced as judges on the upcoming season.

Sony Footage Tv’s 19 Leisure, which co-produces “So You Assume You Can Dance,” has opened an investigation of Lythgoe, a supply instructed Selection on Wednesday.

Abdul was a decide on each “So You Assume You Can Dance” and “American Idol,” which Lythgoe additionally produced. She sued Lythgoe on Dec. 29 below California’s Sexual Abuse and Cowl Up Accountability Act, which revived sure lawsuits that in any other case would have been barred by the statute of limitations.

Abdul alleges that in one of many early seasons of “American Idol,” she and Lythgoe had been touring for the present’s regional auditions and stayed on the similar lodge. She alleges that within the elevator, Lythgoe groped her breasts and genitals and forcibly kissed her.

A couple of decade later, she alleges that Lythgoe invited her to his residence for dinner and compelled himself on high of her whereas she was sitting on his sofa. In each situations, she resisted and fled, in line with her lawsuit.

She additionally alleged that Lythgoe engaged in verbal harassment and bullying, and that she was paid lower than the male judges on “American Idol.”

Lythgoe has adamantly denied Abdul’s allegations, saying in a press release on Saturday that they’re “false” and “deeply offensive.”

“Whereas Paula’s historical past of erratic conduct is well-known, I can’t fake to know precisely why she would file a lawsuit that she should know is unfaithful,” he stated within the assertion on Saturday. “However I can promise that I’ll combat this appalling smear with the whole lot I’ve.”

Within the second lawsuit, two contestants alleged that Lythgoe as soon as walked on the set of “All American Woman” and swatted and groped the dancers’ buttocks. That swimsuit didn’t establish Lythgoe, the plaintiffs, or the present by identify, utilizing solely initials as an alternative.

Abdul, who has constructed a second profession as a actuality present decide, stated she didn’t converse out sooner as a result of she feared being blackballed by probably the most highly effective males within the trade. Her swimsuit named 19 Leisure and a number of other different firms as defendants, alleging that they protected Lythgoe and acted to cowl up the abuse.

In his assertion, Lythgoe stated that he first realized of Abdul’s allegations by studying about them within the press.