At the end of 2023, Paula Abdul sued her former American Idol producer Nigel Lythgoe for two sexual assaults and what sounded like several instances of sexual harassment. Paula also noted that she witnessed Lythgoe assault an assistant too. I believe Paula and I believed her even more after Lythgoe’s reaction to her lawsuit included a reference to Paula’s “history of erratic behavior.” As I wrote yesterday: “It would not surprise me if he treated the women ‘below’ him much worse – as Paula notes in her lawsuit, she witnessed him grope an assistant too. This feels like it could be the tip of the iceberg.” Guess what? It was the tip of the iceberg.

Nigel Lythgoe is facing a new sexual assault lawsuit just days after being accused of multiple counts of sexual assault by Paula Abdul.

According to court documents obtained by PEOPLE, the former So You Think You Can Dance judge, 74, was accused of negligence, sexual assault/battery, sexual harassment, gender violence, and intentional infliction of emotional distress by two contestants of the 2003 all-female reality competition show All American Girl.

On Tuesday, the women filed the lawsuit against Lythgoe and an unnamed production company at the Superior Court of California in Los Angeles County and were identified as Jane Does. TMZ reported that the reality show and Lythgoe were the parties addressed in the suit as “John Roe N.L.” and “AGG,” citing sources. A representative for Lythgoe did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

The lawsuit alleges that Lythgoe would often interact with contestants and, on one occasion, “walked around the set and dressing rooms and openly swatted and groped Plaintiffs’ and other contestants’ buttocks” while they were wearing dance costumes.

The women claim that his behavior was “openly accepted,” as “employees, contractors, representatives, and agents saw this happen but did not act in any manner to condemn the action or prevent it from happening again.”

The lawsuit states that filming took place in Los Angeles from January 2003 to May 2003 and alleges that Lythgoe made unwanted “sexual advances” towards the women after a wrap party.

Lythgoe allegedly took an “unusual interest” in one of the women and “insisted” for her to “ride in his car to go back to the studio where everyone else was going” following the party. The other woman saw this and “decided to go with them to ensure her colleague was not left alone,” according to the lawsuit. The former American Idol producer allegedly took the women to his Los Angeles home, where they claim to have rejected his advances.

Lythgoe is alleged to have lifted his sweater over one woman’s head, “attempting to kiss her and pushing her body close to his,” and she allegedly “scrambled to release herself from his grasp.” He allegedly pinned the other woman “against a grand piano in the house, pushed himself against her body, and forced his mouth and tongue onto her despite her numerous statements telling him not to and attempts to pull her face away from his” later that same night.

[From People]

Well, it certainly sounds like Lythgoe had a predator’s modus operandi, especially given that this lawsuit echoes, in part, Paula’s lawsuit. Paula is so brave to have brought the lawsuit in the first place, and I wonder if her lawyers thought this would happen – that Paula’s lawsuit would give other women the space to sue Lythgoe and tell their stories as well. I have to say this again – I’m sure this is just the tip of the iceberg. Lythgoe has produced so many reality competitions for so long, and he’s clearly used those shows as some kind of hunting ground. Disgusting.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.