Nick Carter files $3.4 million defamation lawsuit against rape accuser – National
NOTE: The following article contains disturbing material. Please read at your own discretion.
Backstreet Boys star Nick Carter filed a US$2.5 million (C$3.42 million) countersuit against one of several women who accused him of rape and sexual assault.
Carter has denied all allegations made by Melissa Schuman, a former member of the girl group Dream, in the lawsuit she filed against him in April 2023 for sexual assault and battery. He is suing her for defamation and interference with existing and potential business contracts.
Schuman told the court that the 44-year-old singer sexually assaulted and raped her at his Santa Monica, California, apartment in 2003 after sedating her. At the time, Carter, then 22, and Schuman, then 18, were co-workers on the set of the thriller. The Hollow.
Carter’s counterclaim was filed in California Superior Court in Los Angeles County on July 26, but was not made public until recently.
Through his lawyers, Carter said the Schuman lawsuit cost him $2.5 million. commercial partnership agreements with MeUndies, VRBO, Roblox and The Children’s Place, according to a report from Rolling Stone. Carter also said that ticket sales for his shows have slowed due to the lawsuit, leading to a drop in profits.
A concert venue canceled his entire appearance and “cost Carter hundreds of thousands of dollars,” the complaint says.
Carter’s countersuit claims he was “falsely accused” of wrongdoing by Schuman, who has a “thirst for relevance on the Internet.” His suit claims Carter and Schuman had a “flirty” dynamic before having consensual sex in 2003.
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Schuman first accused Carter of rape and sexual assault in a blog post from 2017.
Carter also filed a separate defamation lawsuit against Schuman in Las Vegas. The suit claims that Schuman and another of his accusers, Shannon Ruth, tarnished his public image with false allegations.
Ruth said Carter raped and sexually assaulted her when she was 17.
She said Carter invited her to ride a tour bus after a Backstreet Boys concert in Tacoma, Washington, where she claims he gave her alcohol and forced her to perform oral sex before raping her. Ruth also claims she contracted HPV from Carter.
Carter called both women “opportunists” who are conspiring to take advantage of the #MeToo movement to extort, “defame and vilify” him for financial gain.
He said the Nevada lawsuit filed by Schuman and Ruth caused him and the Backstreet Boys to lose $2.3 million (about $3.15 million Canadian) in business deals with companies including ABC and Roblox.
In a statement to Rolling Stone, Schuman’s attorney criticized both Carter’s counterclaim in Nevada and his new claim in California.
“Carter’s countersuit in California uses the same arguments as his stalled Nevada lawsuit, and both show that his approach to defending sexual assault charges is to attack the victims,” attorney Karen Barth Menzies told the outlet.
Schuman and Ruth both appeared in the recently released film docu-series Fallen Idols: Nick and Aaron Carter, where they again detailed their allegations against Carter.
At the time, Carter’s attorney called Schuman and Ruth, along with accuser Ashley Repp, a “bunch of conspirators” making “outrageous allegations.”
Repp alleged that Carter raped her when she was 15 years old.
Carter never faced any criminal charges in connection with the sexual allegations against him.
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If you or someone you know is experiencing abuse or involved in an abusive situation, please visit the Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime for assistance. They can also be reached toll-free at 1-877-232-2610.
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