“Mr. Lythgoe’s answer to Ms. Abdul’s complaint is classic victim shaming,”  Abdul’s lawyers wrote in a statement obtained by Entertainment Weekly.

Lythgoe filed legal documents on Tuesday in which he presented past emails from Abdul that he believed displayed their friendly relationship while working together on “American Idol” and “So You Think You Can Dance.”

“Hi sweetheart — thank you for this lovely ‘gift.’ Please forgive me for not calling yesterday. Forever grateful to have you in my life! Love, love LOVE YOU! XO P,” read one message from Abdul.

But Abdul’s team says the past messages are “cherry-picked” and only showcase the power that Lythgoe held over his employee.

“Mr. Lythgoe fails to appreciate that he held a position of power over Ms. Abdul. He was a producer on ‘American Idol’ and ‘SYTYCD’ and she was the talent,” her attorneys stated.

“He held the cards to her career in his hand and he knew it. It thus is no surprise that Ms. Abdul placated to his ego with positive messaging and seeming adoration. These are the defenses that many women like Ms. Abdul had to adopt to deal with men who abuse their power.”

Representatives for Lythgoe did not immediately respond to a Daily News request for comment.

Abdul’s team also produced quotes from past messages that Lythgoe allegedly sent to Abdul, saying they evidenced varying levels of harassment.

“When you get back to LA will you please make love to me! Slowly and lovingly!” the producer allegedly wrote her in 2014.

“Is a small grope of the ass asking too much?” he allegedly asked in another text.

In a lawsuit filed last December, Abdul accused Lythgoe of groping and kissing her in a hotel elevator during an early season of “Idol,” saying he assaulted her again during a dinner at his home while they were working on “SYTYCD.”

Although Lythgoe’s team has called the accusations “pure fiction,” at least four other women have now come forward and filed lawsuits against him, claiming sexual assault and/or battery.

The daytime soap opera world will welcome its first new series starring a predominantly Black cast in 35 years.

CBS, in partnership with civil rights organization NAACP, announced Wednesday its development of “The Gates,” a soap centered on a wealthy Black family living in a posh, gated community.

The daytime drama will be written by Emmy winner Michele Val Jean, whose credits include more than 2,000 episodes of iconic soaps including “The Bold & The Beautiful” and “General Hospital.” The 72-year-old daytime veteran, who served as a script writer for the Black-led “Generations” in the early 1990s, will also serve as showrunner.

“The Gates will be everything we love about daytime drama, from a new and fresh perspective,” CBS Studios/NAACP president Sheila Ducksworth said in a statement. “This series will salute an audience that has been traditionally underserved, with the potential to be a groundbreaking moment for broadcast television.”

“With multi-dimensional characters, juicy storylines and Black culture front and center, ‘The Gates’ will have impactful representation, one of the key touchstones of the venture,” the former “Soul Food” producer added.

Once the dominating content of daytime, there are currently only three soap operas still airing on network TV: “The Young & the Restless” and “The Bold & the Beautiful,” both on CBS, and ABC’s “General Hospital.”

In 2022, “Days of Our Lives” moved exclusively to the Peacock streaming platform after 57 years on NBC.

To celebrate International Women’s Day on March 8 and the iconic doll’s 65th birthday on March 9, the toy company announced Wednesday that it’s adding new dolls modeled after Viola Davis, Dame Helen Mirren, Shania Twain and Kylie Minogue to its cannon.

However, the one-of-a-kind dolls are not for sale and were instead gifted to each woman to honor their achievements and contributions to the world.

According to Mattel, the dolls are meant to introduce “girls to remarkable women’s stories to show them you can be anything.”

Davis, 58, the only EGOT recipient and American born among the new crop of role models, said she “wanted this Barbie to make little 6-year-old Viola squeal.

“It is my biggest gift to her…my lifelong mission and legacy to make her feel pretty, seen, and worthy,” said the L’Oreal spokeswoman, whose abusive and poverty-stricken childhood was documented in her no-holds-barred “Finding Me” memoir that topped the New York Times bestsellers list in 2022.

Mirren, another acclaimed Academy Award winner and L’Oreal spokesperson, said she was “absolutely blown away” after being made into a Barbie doll.

The 78-year-old actress, who just so happens to be the narrator of the “Barbie” film, said being chosen as a role model “is a huge compliment, and something I would never have imagined in my wildest dreams happening to me at this stage in my life.”

Her doll is seen holding an Oscars statue and wearing the same blue dress Mirren wore at the Cannes Film Festival last year.

Meanwhile, country superstar Shania Twain took to social media Wednesday to share her joy over the once-in-a-lifetime honor.

“Pinch me!!,” the 58-year-old singer-songwriter wrote in part about the doll, adorned in an all-black ensemble to emulate the look Twain wore in the 1999 music video for female empowerment anthem “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!”

“All I’ve wanted to do my whole life is tell stories of empowerment, independence and self-expression through my songwriting,” she added. “Getting to do that and inspire women and girls along the way is the dream… everything else is a beautiful bonus.”

Minogue also shared an image with her doll, adding the caption: “Look at Padam Barbie!!!! Baby Kylie would NOT believe this is happening right now!”

The 55-year-old singer, recognized as the highest-selling female Australian artist of all time, boasts a string of hits including “The Loco-Motion,” “Dance Alone,” and “Can’t Get You Out of My Head.” She recently won her the inaugural Grammy for Best Pop Dance Recording  for 2023’s “Padam Padam.”

Other notable women from around the world with dolls made for the occasion include Brazilian content creator Maira Gomez, Mexican filmmaker Lila Avilés, Japanese model and TV personality Nicole Fujita and German comedian activist Enissa Amani.

“Girls in particular need to be able to see women telling their own stories, writing their own narratives, living out their own dreams, and we’re happy to honor these women in celebration of Barbie’s 65th,” Mattel executive Kim Culmone told People.

She was immediately remanded to custody pending sentencing. She faces up to 18 months in prison and a $5,000 fine, according to The Associated Press.

Gutierrez-Reed was tasked with ensuring firearm safety and storage on the New Mexico set of the western when she handed Baldwin a prop gun that contained live ammunition. Baldwin fired, striking and killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, and wounding director Joel Souza.

In connection with the shooting, Baldwin was indicted by a grand jury in January, also for involuntary manslaughter. He has pleaded not guilty and is slated for trial in July.

Gutierrez-Reed was also charged with evidence tampering for allegedly transferring a small bag of narcotics to someone else on the day of the shooting, special prosecutors said at the time.

During Gutierrez-Reed’s two-week trial, prosecutors said the then-24-year-old had unknowingly brought live ammunition on the set while being lax at following basic gun-safety guidelines that were industry standard. Witness after witness described set safety protocols that were akin to playing Russian roulette.

After the shooting, state officials found “willful and serious violations” and fined the production $136,793, the maximum allowed.

Prosecutors built on such allegations, doubling down in detailing “constant, never-ending safety failures” on the set, as prosecutor Kari Morrissey described it in her closing arguments. She also said Gutierrez-Reed exhibited an “astonishing lack of diligence” when it came to gun safety.

The young armorer’s defense meanwhile argued that she could not have shown “willful disregard” if she didn’t know the rounds were live. It has never been made clear how live ammo made it onto the set.

Gutierrez-Reed’s attorneys also argued she was being made a scapegoat, adding she was not the one ultimately in control of the pace of the production.

“You had a production company on a shoestring budget [and] an A-list actor that was really running the show,” her attorney, Jason Bowles, said. “At the end, they had somebody they could all blame.”

After the verdict was read, Bowles said they planed to appeal.

Wednesday’s verdict shifts blame for Hutchins’ death in the wake of assistant director David Halls’ no-contest plea last year. Halls served six months of probation after pleading guilty to misdemeanor negligent use of a deadly weapon for declaring the gun “cold” before handing it to Baldwin.

Baldwin meanwhile has maintained that he did not pull the trigger and would never have pointed and fired a gun at another human. The FBI said otherwise. If found guilty, he could face up to 18 months behind bars in New Mexico.

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Last week, the company announced a social media campaign with Hudson, a recording artist known for toying with “gender, sex, and free-expression paradigms” and who was named Best Spanish Act at last year’s MTV Europe Music Awards.

The partnership included a 50-second promo called “Crunch Talks,” which the influencer had briefly shared on her own social media accounts.

But on Tuesday, the PespiCo subsidiary announced their partnership was over, following growing backlash against resurfaced posts Hudson allegedly shared on social media in the past.

In a since-deleted message from nearly a decade ago, Hudson allegedly wrote about making fun of victims of sexual assault and wanting to do inappropriate things with a 12-year-old girl, according to Rolling Stone.

Hudson had reportedly apologized for the message after she became known in Spain, but over the weekend, screenshots of the alleged messages resurfaced online, prompting a massive call for a boycott of the snack.

Several other people online also joined the #BoycottDoritos campaign taking offense at the company’s hiring of a transgender woman to represent the brand — much like BudLight’s controversial and consequential choice of Dylan Mulvaney for a social media campaign last year.

In a statement to Rolling Stone, the company said that after becoming aware of Hudson’s deleted tweets from around 2015, “we have ended the relationship and stopped all related campaign activity due to the comments. We strongly condemn words or actions that promote violence or sexism of any kind.”

On Tuesday, Hudson addressed the controversy on X, once again admitting the comments were  “absolutely out of place, disgusting and offensive,” adding she wrote them as a younger person “in a context in which the general tone on social media was to use black humor in the grossest and most exorbitant way possible, as a way to generate attention.”

She also pointed out that the screenshot of a particularly disturbing tweet attributed to her, which has been circulating online is “totally false,” since it was written in 2014 and she said she only joined the platform the following year.

The “Wonder Woman” actress announced Wednesday afternoon she had welcomed a baby girl named Ori, following a secret and difficult pregnancy.

The newborn is the fourth daughter for Gadot, 38, and her husband of 16 years, Israeli film producer Jaron Varsano.

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“My sweet girl, welcome,” Gadot shared on Instagram and Facebook, surprising fans who didn’t know she was expecting. “The pregnancy was not easy and we made it through.”

Alongside a pic of her cuddling her newborn in a hospital bed, the Israeli actress added: “You have brought so much light into our lives, living up to your name, Ori, which means ‘my light’ in Hebrew. Our hearts are full of gratitude. Welcome to the house of girls.”

Baby Ori joins sisters Alma (born in 2011), Maya (2017) and Daniella (2021).

Gadot previously said in a 2022 interview for InStyle that she loved “giving birth” and “would do it once a week” if she could.

“It’s so magical. And I always take epidurals, to be fair, so it’s not painful,” she said. “Just the moment you feel like you’re creating life, it’s incredible.”

There has been “radio silence” surrounding the Princess of Wales’ condition — save for the occasional updates to the public that she’s “doing well,” a palace insider told People.

“Everybody feels unsettled by uncertainty, and there is too much uncertainty that is surrounding the monarchy right now,” royal biographer Sally Bedell Smith told the outlet.

Concern and curiosity have followed ever since the Jan. 17 announcement that the 42-year-old royal underwent a “successful” procedure the day prior. While Kensington Palace said the operation had been “planned,” they never elaborated on what condition was being treated or otherwise addressed.

The palace did note from the get-go that Kate Middleton was unlikely to return to royal duties until after Easter, citing advice from her doctor’s. However, her complete absence from the public eye since Christmas — aside from a brief sighting this week — has only furthered speculation.

“Queen Elizabeth used to say, ‘I need to be seen to be believed.’ It is important for [King] Charles and his reign for the public to know a little bit more,” said Bedell Smith, noting that Middleton is “in so many ways the most like the late Queen.”

The royal family found itself at the center of conspiracy theories last week as Kate’s husband, Prince William, suddenly pulled out of a memorial service for the late King Constantine of Greece due to “personal reasons.”

There was no elaboration on why the Prince of Wales was unable to attend the ceremony for his godfather.

Theories swirled that Kate was in a coma due to surgery complications, might be trying to conceal a pregnancy, or is attempting to hide troubles in her marriage. Some even (jokingly) speculated that the princess might be the mysterious artist Banksy or is the real-life “Gone Girl.”

Also missing from Constantine’s memorial was King Charles, who was hospitalized at The London Clinic for an enlarged prostate at the same time his daughter-in-law was recovering there from surgery. Shortly after, the monarch, 75, revealed his diagnosis with cancer (said to be unrelated to the enlarged prostate) and though he’s now undergoing treatment, has occasionally been seen in public.

This has only intensified conjecture around Princess Catherine — who Bedell Smith says is “so central to the monarchy and the future.”

Kensington Palace finally broke their silence on the theories late last week.

“We were very clear from the outset that the Princess of Wales was out until after Easter and Kensington Palace would only be providing updates when something was significant,” a spokesperson told People, adding that Kate was “doing well.”

She was photographed this week in the passenger seat of an Audi driven by her mom, Carole Middleton.

The “Mob Wives” star revealed Wednesday that she suffered an accidental overdose after taking a bad batch of fentanyl last fall, resulting in her being “dead, intubated for three days.”

The 55-year-old reality TV personality explained that she sought the drugs as a coping mechanism in the midst of family trauma — including the 2019 death of her father Anthony Graziano, a former consigliere of the Bonanno crime family.

“Everything in my life was falling apart,” Graziano shared in an interview on Bunnie XO’s “Dumb Blonde” podcast. “My son [AJ Pagan] didn’t wanna talk to me. Nobody wanted to talk to me. Everything just started piling up and piling up. I gave up.”

Graziano claimed that on Sept. 18, “someone gave [her] a bag of fentanyl when it was supposed to be [an unspecified drug].”

When asked the source of the drugs, Graziano said they came from a supplier who a friend vouched for.

The “Playing With Fire” author confessed she overdosed after taking the drugs, saying she “died in a restaurant in Florida.”

“Three days are wiped from my brain,” she added. “I don’t know what happened at all. I don’t remember anything.”

Graziano went on to say she spent nine days in a hospital “learning how to walk again,” during which time she said no one in her family came to visit her.

“They said I wasn’t going to make it and they just didn’t want to do it,” she explained. “And I don’t blame them. I don’t. I put them through hell.”

Graziano’s overdose reportedly led her to check into rehab in November. She’d previously checked into a facility for addiction to prescription pills after getting arrested for hitting a parked car.

The Staten Island native, who was charged with operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of a substance, told authorities she had taken Adderall ahead of the crash.

Max was found dead Jan. 25 at her home in Las Vegas. She was 45 years old.

Cops did not suspect foul play, and an autopsy later confirmed she died from an accidental overdose of fentanyl and cocaine, TMZ said Wednesday.

Max was best known for her modeling career, during which she appeared in Playboy, Maxim, Alt Magazine, Bizarre Magazine and other publications. She was a regular at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles during the late 2000s and early 2010s, according to the outlet.

Before moving to Las Vegas, she was part of Los Angeles’ fetish and burlesque scene, according to Los Angeles Magazine.

“Max’s physical allure was undeniable, but it was her charm and empowered energy that made her the model of choice for an array of edgy brands, photographers and artists,” the magazine wrote. “She really is legendary in the underground, pre-dating today’s Instagram models and Only Fans stars.”

Max also appeared in several low-budget films, such as “Inland Empire” and “Unlucky Charms,” according to her IMDb page.

The most well-known film she appeared in was “xXx: State of the Union,” which starred Samuel L. Jackson and Ice Cube. Max appeared as the girlfriend of Zeke, a character played by rapper Xzibit. Her most recent movie credit was for the 2023 film “Protege Moi.”

Several celebrities have died from fentanyl overdoses in recent years, including Prince, Mac Miller, Angus Cloud and Michael K. Williams.