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Nigel Lythgoe<\/a> is out at <\/span>So You Think You Can Dance<\/em><\/a>. On Friday,\u00a0the production companies and network behind the competition series announced that its upcoming 18th season will proceed without Lythgoe as he faces sexual assault lawsuits.<\/span><\/p>\n “19 Entertainment, Dick Clark Productions, and FOX can confirm the upcoming season of <\/span>So You Think You Can Dance<\/span><\/em> 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,” the statement read. “No decision has been made as to a replacement judge for this season, which will premiere on FOX on Monday, March 4th.”<\/span><\/p>\n Lythgoe co-created the series alongside Simon Fuller. He served as a judge for its first 16 seasons. For season 18,\u00a0<\/span>Allison Holker<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>Maksim\u00a0Chmerkovskiy<\/a>\u00a0will be <\/span>the show’s judges<\/a> along with guest judge Comfort Fedoke.\u00a0Returning to host the beloved dance competition series is Cat Deeley.<\/span><\/p>\n Lythgoe’s\u00a0<\/span>SYTYCD\u00a0<\/span><\/em>exit comes less than a week after <\/span>Paula Abdul<\/a>\u00a0filed <\/span>a sexual assault lawsuit<\/a> against him. In the suit, which was obtained by ET, Abdul claimed that the\u00a0<\/span>American Idol<\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/em>producer\u00a0sexually assaulted her on two occasions, once when she was a judge on\u00a0<\/span>Idol<\/span><\/em>\u00a0and again when she was\u00a0a judge on\u00a0<\/span>So You Think You Can Dance<\/span><\/em>, both of which Lythgoe denied in a statement to ET.<\/span><\/p>\n “To say that I am shocked and saddened by the allegations made against me by Paula Abdul is a wild understatement,” Lythgoe’s statement read. “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.”<\/span><\/p>\n “While Paula’s history of erratic behavior is well known, I can’t pretend to understand exactly why she would file a lawsuit that she must know is untrue,” Lythgoe’s statement concluded. “But I can promise that I will fight this appalling smear with everything I have.”<\/span><\/p>\n Shortly thereafter,\u00a0<\/span>multiple<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>outlets<\/a>\u00a0obtained <\/span>another lawsuit<\/a> against Lythgoe. In that legal filing, two women claim that Lythgoe sexually assaulted them they were contestants on the short-lived ABC reality competition show\u00a0<\/span>All American Girl<\/span><\/em>\u00a0back in 2003. ET has reached out to Lythgoe for comment on the second lawsuit.<\/span><\/p>\n Both of the lawsuits\u00a0were\u00a0filed under California’s\u00a0<\/span>Sexual Abuse and Cover Up Accountability Act<\/a>, which gave people a window of opportunity to filed lawsuits related to alleged incidents that would otherwise fall outside the statute of limitations.\u00a0However, that window closed on Dec. 31 — meaning Abdul’s lawsuit made the cut, but the second lawsuit may not qualify for consideration under the\u00a0Sexual Abuse and Cover Up Accountability Act.<\/span><\/p>\n