Inside Backstreet Boys’ biggest scandals after Nick Carter accused of rape from alt-right connection to corrupt manager

BACKSTREET Boys Nick and Aaron Carter are facing fresh scrutiny this week as a new, four-part documentary centering around the brothers gets set to air tonight.

‘Fallen Idols: Nick and Aaron Carter,’ will tell the story of the brothers’ rise to fame, along with Aaron’s death and rape allegations against Nick.

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A docuseries about Backstreet Boys Aaron and Nick Carter is set to air tonight and will cover a range of topics including their rise to fame and the rape allegations against NickCredit: Getty

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Aaron’s death after his long substance abuse battle will also be included in the coming showCredit: Getty Images – Getty

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Nick’s ex fiancé Melanie Martin will reportedly be interviewed in the series, showing her support for the pop starCredit: John Chapple for The US Sun
It is the latest in a string of controversies to hit the band, which include their former producer being sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2007.

Nick’s accusers, Melissa Schuman, Ashley Repp, and Shannon “Shay” Ruth, will appear in the documentary and are each suing Nick Carter.

The singer, 44, has repeatedly denied the allegations against him in statements and responded to each lawsuit with counterclaims that question their credibility.

His ex, Melanie Martin, is supporting the pop star and is interviewed later on in the documentary, The U.S. Sun can exclusively reveal.

“Melanie appears in the third and fourth episodes of the documentary about Aaron and his brother Nick, along with her son Prince, Aaron’s only child,” a source confirmed.

RAPE ACCUSATIONS

Ruth claims that Carter left bruises on her during an incident on his tour bus when she was 17.

She is suing the singer for sexual battery, according to court documents obtained by Page Six.

“This claim about an incident that supposedly took place more than 20 years ago is not only legally meritless but also entirely untrue,” attorney for Nick Carter Michael Holtz told TMZ after the band’s 2022 Holiday Special was canceled.

“Unfortunately, for several years now, Ms. Ruth has been manipulated into making false allegations about Nick and those allegations have changed repeatedly and materially over time,” he added.

“No one should be fooled by a press stunt orchestrated by an opportunistic lawyer – there is nothing to this claim whatsoever, which we have no doubt the courts will quickly realize.”

Aaron Carter revealed feud with brother Nick was ignited when the Backstreet Boy didn’t attend sister’s funeral
Ruth, who has autism and cerebral palsy, was asked if she wanted a drink after being invited, by Carter, to his tour bus after a Backstreet Boys concert in Tacoma, Washington, according to documents.

She claimed that she asked for apple juice, and Carter allegedly told her he had cranberry and proceeded to give her a “red-colored drink.”

Ruth said that the drink tasted off and that Carter called it “VIP juice.”

She said she drank it to not be rude but now believes it was a mix of alcohol and cranberry juice.

The singer then took Ruth to the bus’s bathroom and demanded she perform oral sex on him, she alleges.

Ruth said she was crying during the act, but he allegedly kept instructing her.

Carter allegedly took her to a bed on the bus afterward and continued to sexually assault her, according to Ruth.

After the incident, she claimed that she told him she’d tell people about what he did, but he allegedly threatened to turn others against her, TMZ reported.

Carter family scandals and tragedies

The family has been through a lot after Nick and Aaron grew up in the spotlight.

January 2002 – Nick Carter is arrested

Nick was just 21 when he found himself behind bars after refusing to leave a nightclub in Tampa Bay, Florida when police ordered him to do so following a dispute with a mystery woman.

Charges were later dismissed upon completion of community service.

January 2004 – Mom Jane arrested for battery

Jane Carter allegedly attacked her estranged husband Bob’s girlfriend, Ginger Elrod, after their divorce.

It came just a few weeks after Aaron alleged his mom had removed $100,000 from his bank account without permission after managing his career since he was a child.

She denied doing so and the pair later resolved the financial dispute.

March 2005 – Nick gets a DUI

He was arrested in Huntington Beach, California, pleaded guilty to the charges, and was ordered to pay $1,200 in fines, was placed on three years of informal probation.

He also had his driving privileges restricted for 90 days and was required to complete a three-month alcohol education program.

February 2008 – Aaron Carter is arrested for marijuana possession

He was booked for speeding on the I-10 in Kimble County, Texas, and police found at least two ounces of marijuana in his vehicle. He later entered rehab in January 2011.

January 2012 – Sister Leslie Carter dies of apparent drug overdose

Leslie, 25, was found unresponsive in their dad’s home in New York and later pronounced dead on arrival at hospital.

An autopsy revealed she had overdosed and prescription medications like Olanzapine, Cyclobenzaprine (muscle relaxer), and Alprazolam (Xanax) were found near her body.

November 2013 – Aaron files for bankruptcy

He had $3.5 million worth of debt, including $1.3 million in back taxes and $30,000 worth of credit card bills.

May 2017 – Dad Bob Carter dies

The family patriarch died of an apparent heart attack in Florida at the age of 65.

July 2017 – Aaron is arrested for DUI and drug possession

He later entered rehab again for his drug abuse issues following several police welfare checks at his Florida home in September.

November 2017 – Nick is accused of rape by singer Melissa Schuman

The Los Angeles District Attorney’s office declined the sex assault case due to the 10-year limitations period expiring and Nick denied the claim saying the sex was consensual.

September 2019 – Nick files a restraining order against Aaron

Nick tweeted that he and his sister Angel had filed a restraining order, claiming that Aaron had threatened to kill Nick’s “pregnant wife and unborn child,” which he denied.

November 2022 – Aaron is found dead in his bathtub

An autopsy revealed he had drowned after taking alprazolam and inhaling compressed difluoroethane, a propellant used in cans of compressed air.

December 2022 – Nick is sued for sexual battery

Shannon Ruth, who has autism and cerebral palsy, alleged Nick, then 21, sexually assaulted her on his tour bus over two decades ago, which he has denied.

December 2023 – Bobbie Jean Carter dies

Nick and Aaron’s sister, 41, was found dead in her bathroom in Florida.

Her cause of death was “intoxication by the combined effects of fentanyl and methamphetamine,” according to a report from the Hillsborough County Medical Examiner Department.

She claims that he called her a “re****** little b****” that no one would believe.

Ruth also said she was a virgin before the alleged assault and contracted HPV after the alleged assault.

She is suing for sexual battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and negligent infliction of emotional distress.

Accuser Melissa Shuman reportedly will recall during the series how she was allegedly raped in 2003.

She described the moment she later received a text from Nick that read, “Why did you make me do that?”

According to the New York Post, she says in the documentary, “That text message freaked me out. I confided in my manager about going to the police and reporting the crime. He told me, ‘[Nick] has the most powerful litigator in the country.'”

Her previous manager denies in an onscreen statement that she ever told him about the alleged rape.

Meanwhile, Ashley Repp alleges in 2003, when she was 15 and Nick was 23, she was drugged and raped by the star.

Since Ruth’s accusation was made public, the Backstreet Boys have backed their fellow bandmate.

“We all stand behind Nick, and we all fully support him. He’s doing as great as he can. [Backstreet Boys] couldn’t be more solid,” AJ McLean told the Daily Mail.

NICK’S RESPONSES

Nick has adamantly denied all accusations of sexual assault.

His lawyer, Michael Holtz, denied Ruth’s allegations in a statement on Dec. 8, 2022.

“This claim about an incident that supposedly took place more than 20 years ago is not only legally meritless but also entirely untrue,’ he said, reported by Today.

“Unfortunately, for several years now, Ms. Ruth has been manipulated into making false allegations about Nick — and those allegations have changed repeatedly and materially over time.”

He has also denied the allegations made by Repp and Schuman.

LOU PEARLMAN

The allegations come after Lou Pearlman, ex-producer of American boy bands Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC, was convicted and sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2007 before dying in federal custody in 2016.

The superstar producer was charged with conspiracy, money laundering, and false bankruptcy proceedings.

*NSYNC’s Lance Bass told ABC News that while the boy band was achieving tremendous success, he and his bandmates were provided just $35 a day, which was for their per diem.

Underpaying his famous boy band members wasn’t the only scheme Pearlman was running at the time, as he reportedly founded a group of “businesses” he claimed to own and operate.

He used the fame of the boy bands to get investors for these businesses, according to Distractify.

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Shannon ‘Shay’ Ruth is suing Nick, claiming she was sexually assaulted on his tour bus at 17Credit: Facebook/Childhood Sexual Abuse Lawyers
Pearlman would take investors to the studio, where they’d find the Backstreet Boys or *NSYNC recording or rehearsing Former Backstreet Boys manager Johnny Wright told “20/20.”

“You drive to his office, which was quite impressive,” Wright said.

“Then when you walk through the door, he’s on the phone with Barry Gordy or whoever. ‘Oh yeah, we’ll close that deal. Don’t worry about it.'”

He added: “It’s all real to some extent because Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC are successful. They’re there right in front of you.”

Wright said at one point, he spoke to one of Pearlman’s assistants when he considered investing.

“He said, ‘Johnny, I’m a loyal person to Lou but I also like you… if you ask me the right question, I won’t lie to you.’ And I said to him, ‘I don’t need to hear anything else. I’m not giving you my money,'” Wright said.

“I walked out of his office. I never invested in that.”

Meanwhile, according to a federal prosecutor in central Florida named Roger Handberg, Pearlman had been taking out enormous bank loans – some 30 of them totaling $190million.

He turned out to be behind one of the most profitable Ponzi schemes of all time, laundering more than $1 billion, which ultimately landed him in prison after accruing more than $300 million in debt.

AARON CARTER

Only a month before the recent accusations causing the cancellation of Backstreet Boy’s Christmas special, Nick Carter had just spoken out regarding his younger brother Aaron’s shocking death.

The singer took to Instagram to share a little about how he felt following Aaron’s passing.

He wrote alongside various throwback and childhood photos of the duo: “My heart has been broken today.”

“Even though my brother and I have had a complicated relationship, my love for him has never ever faded,

“I have always held onto the hope, that he would somehow, someday want to walk a healthy path and eventually find the help that he so desperately needed,

“Sometimes we want to blame someone or something for a loss.”

In his post, he went on to say: “But the truth is that addiction and mental illness is the real villain here. I will miss my brother more than anyone will ever know. I love you Chizz.”

The U.S. Sun confirmed Aaron had passed away at the age of 34 on November 5.

Nick’s sister, Bobbie Jean, died in 2023 only a year after Aaron’s death.

“Fallen Idols: Nick and Aaron Carter” premieres on Monday, May 27, and Tuesday, May 28, from 9 to 11 p.m. on ID and streaming on Max.

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Three women have come forward accusing Nick of sexual assault among other accusationsCredit: Instagram/@nickcarter

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Lou Pearlman was convicted and sentenced to 25 years in prison in before dying in federal custody in 2016Credit: AP2006