Nick Carter Sued for Allegedly Raping Teen During 2001 Backstreet Boys Tour
There will be no Backstreet Boys Christmas special on ABC after a new lawsuit was filed on Dec. 8 against band member Nick Carter.
Content warning: rape/sexual assault.
According to Variety, a 39-year-old woman named Shannon "Shay" Ruth filed the lawsuit, which accuses the Backstreet Boy of sexual battery.
Ruth alleged that Carter raped her and infected her with HPV when she was 17 in 2001. Three other anonymous women are also a part of the lawsuit and two of them said they also contracted HPV as a result of the assault.
The suit claims that in February 2001 after a Backstreet Boys concert in Tacoma, Wash., Ruth met Carter while asking for autographs with a group of fans after the show. Carter, who was 21 at the time, allegedly invited her onto his tour bus.
Ruth alleged that Carter gave her "a funny-tasting beverage that he called VIP juice," which was reportedly a mix of alcohol and cranberry juice, before leading her to the bathroom and telling her to "get on her knees."
The filing also alleges that Carter then "pushed" Ruth onto the bed and assaulted her despite being "begged" to stop.
Purportedly, Ruth then threatened to tell someone about the incident and was called a "retarded little b----" by Carter.
The report was filed in Clark County, Nevada, and a press conference was held in-person and via Facebook live stream by Ruth and her attorneys at Los Angeles' Beverly Hilton hotel.
Ruth identified herself as autistic and as having cerebral palsy. She said, "The last 21 years have been filled with pain, confusion, frustration, shame, and self-harm that are a direct result of Nick Carter raping me. Even though I’m autistic and live with cerebral palsy, I believe nothing has affected me more … than what Nick Carter did to me."
Carter's attorney Michael Holtz told Variety "This claim about an incident that supposedly took place more than 20 years ago is not only legally meritless but also entirely untrue. 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. 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."
Carter was also accused of sexual assault in 2017 by former girl group member Melissa Schuman, who said Carter allegedly raped her in his Santa Monica apartment while shooting The Hollow in 2002.
In 2017, Carter said, "Melissa never expressed to me while we were together or at any time since that anything we did was not consensual."
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