The staff at the famed competition show So You Think You Can Dance has been shrunk by one. According to Rolling Stone, as of Friday, January 5, Nigel Lythgoe will no longer be affiliated with the series following Paula Abdul’s sexual assault lawsuit.
In a statement exclusively shared with the outlet, the former producer detailed his decision to walk away. “I have informed the producers of ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ of my decision to step back from participating in this year’s series,” wrote Lythgoe. “I did so with a heavy heart but entirely voluntarily because this great program has always been about dance and dancers, and that’s where its focus needs to remain. In the meantime, I am dedicating myself to clearing my name and restoring my reputation.”
Fox and the show’s producers, 19 Entertainment and Dick Clark Productions, also issued a comment on the matter: “The upcoming season of So You Think You Can Dance will proceed, although without Nigel Lythgoe, to ensure the show remains committed to the contestants, who have worked incredibly hard for the opportunity to compete on our stage.”
After news of Abdul’s filing went public, Lythogoe immediately denied the allegations. “To say that I am shocked and saddened by the allegations made against me by Paula Abdul is a wild understatement,” he wrote at the time. “For more than two decades, Paula and I have interacted as dear — and entirely platonic — friends and colleagues. Yesterday, however, out of the blue, I learned of these claims in the press, and I want to be clear: not only are they false, they are deeply offensive to me and to everything I stand for.”
Before his time at So You Think You Can Dance, Lythogoe previously served as a producer on American Idol.