Backstreet Boy Nick Carter wants to see you pay for the damage
Singer Melissa Schuman accuses Nick Carter of forcing her to have sex when she was 18. The Backstreet Boys star is now countersuing her, seeking $2.5 million in damages for defamation.
Nick Carter, a member of the Backstreet Boys, is countersuing singer Melissa Schuman, who accused him last year of sexual assault. The former Dream girl group member alleges that Carter forced her into oral and then vaginal sex in 2003, when she was 18 and he was 22.
In his countersuit, Carter denies the allegations and is suing Schuman for $2.5 million (approximately €2.3 million) in damages for defamation, according to US magazine People.
Last April, Schuman filed a civil lawsuit against Carter. She had previously made the allegations public, but the Los Angeles district attorney's office declined to file charges, citing the statute of limitations. A change in the law last year gave Schuman the opportunity to take legal action against Carter again.
In his lawsuit filed with the California Supreme Court at the end of July, Carter claims that Schuman made false statements when she first accused him of sexual assault in her blog in 2017. He also alleges that she made defamatory statements in interviews, social media, and a streaming documentary.
Second woman accuses Carter of sexual assault
Carter denies the allegations and claims that their sexual encounter was consensual. He believes that Schuman's accusations are an attempt to revive her "fading career" and damage his reputation.
Schuman's lawyer responded to Carter's latest countersuit, telling People magazine: "Carter's countersuit in California contains the same arguments as his stalled lawsuit in Nevada, and both show that his approach to defending against sexual assault lawsuits is to attack the victims."
The Nevada case involves Shannon Ruth, who also accuses Carter of sexual assault, allegedly occurring in 2001 after a concert.
Alleged victims speak out in documentary
Ruth and Schuman appear in the documentary "Fallen Idols: Aaron and Nick Carter," which was released in May. The four-part series includes interviews with the two women and Ashley Repp, all of whom accuse Carter of sexual assault. Carter has taken legal action against the documentary.
"This is exactly the same shameless allegations that led us to sue this cabal of conspirators," Carter's lawyer Dale Hayes Jr. told The Hollywood Reporter. "We are confident that we will prevail and hold them accountable for spreading these falsehoods."
In response to the allegations made by Melissa Schuman, Nick Carter has countersued for defamation, claiming that the pop music star has made false statements about their past encounter. Despite the sexual assault allegations against him in the realm of pop music, Carter maintains that their encounter was consensual.
