PAULA'S IDOL HORROR STORY

Addiction, bulimia, crippling pain and sex abuse charges

FRAGILE former American Idol judge Paula Abdul claims her eight seasons on the hit show were nothing short of a nightmare as she was secretly hooked on painkillers and sexually abused by her producer boss Nigel Lythgoe!

“Paula was often mocked as a ditzy joke, but she contends the behind-the-scenes reality was FAR darker!” a source spills.

In a shocking new civil suit, the pint-sized pop star, 61, accuses Lythgoe, 74, of sexually assaulting her during her stint as a key star of the groundbreaking reality competition from 2002 to 2009 and again when the pair briefly worked together on So You Think You Can Dance!