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Paula Abdul has accused Nigel Lythgoe of "classic victim-shaming" in his official response to her sexual assault lawsuit.
The singer filed a lawsuit against the TV producer in December in which she accused him of sexually assaulting and harassing her when they worked together on American Idol and So You Can Think You Can Dance.
On Tuesday, lawyers of Lythgoe, 74, filed court documents denying her "false, despicable, intolerable and life-changing" claims, insisting Abdul was a "well-documented fabulist" with a history of telling stories "untethered from reality".
Her attorney Melissa Eubanks responded via a statement on Wednesday, insisting his response was an example of "classic victim shaming".
According to People, Eubanks also accused Lythgoe's team of "cherry-pick(ing)" messages between him and Abdul that show a positive professional relationship and leaving out "the numerous instances of overt sexual harassment he forced Ms. Abdul to tolerate".
Alongside alleged examples of inappropriate messages, she added, "There are several instances of such verbal assaults against Ms. Abdul, which are evidence of the frequent abusive behaviour that Ms. Abdul was subjected to during her time on American Idol and SYTYCD."
Addressing the positive texts Lythgoe's team submitted, Eubanks argued, "These are the defences that many women like Ms. Abdul had to adopt to deal with men who abuse their power."
Since Abdul came forward with her allegations, Lythgoe has been slapped with three other sexual assault lawsuits.
He stepped down as a judge of So You Think You Can Dance as a result of his legal issues. He was replaced by JoJo Siwa.
The singer filed a lawsuit against the TV producer in December in which she accused him of sexually assaulting and harassing her when they worked together on American Idol and So You Can Think You Can Dance.
On Tuesday, lawyers of Lythgoe, 74, filed court documents denying her "false, despicable, intolerable and life-changing" claims, insisting Abdul was a "well-documented fabulist" with a history of telling stories "untethered from reality".
Her attorney Melissa Eubanks responded via a statement on Wednesday, insisting his response was an example of "classic victim shaming".
According to People, Eubanks also accused Lythgoe's team of "cherry-pick(ing)" messages between him and Abdul that show a positive professional relationship and leaving out "the numerous instances of overt sexual harassment he forced Ms. Abdul to tolerate".
Alongside alleged examples of inappropriate messages, she added, "There are several instances of such verbal assaults against Ms. Abdul, which are evidence of the frequent abusive behaviour that Ms. Abdul was subjected to during her time on American Idol and SYTYCD."
Addressing the positive texts Lythgoe's team submitted, Eubanks argued, "These are the defences that many women like Ms. Abdul had to adopt to deal with men who abuse their power."
Since Abdul came forward with her allegations, Lythgoe has been slapped with three other sexual assault lawsuits.
He stepped down as a judge of So You Think You Can Dance as a result of his legal issues. He was replaced by JoJo Siwa.