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Former Backstreet Boys member Nick Carter has once more denied any and all wrongdoing following the airing of a new docuseries, called Fallen Idols: Nick and Aaron Carter, that again publicized accusations of sexual assault against the singer.
The four-part docuseries, produced by Investigation Discovery, aired on Monday and Tuesday. The series details allegations from three women — Ashley Repp, Melissa Schuman Henschel and Shannon “Shay” Ruth — who have all filed civil lawsuits against Carter, 44.
The alleged assaults took place between 2001 and 2003, with two of the women claiming they were underage at the time. The lawsuits were filed between December 2022 and August 2023.
In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter on Wednesday, Carter’s lawyers vehemently denied any crime ever took place.
“These are exactly the same outrageous claims that led us to sue this gang of conspirators,” Carter’s attorney, Dale Hayes, Jr., wrote. “Those cases are working their way through the legal system now, and, based on both the initial court rulings and the overwhelming evidence, we have every belief that we will prevail and hold them accountable for spreading these falsehoods.”
In February 2023, Carter countersued his first two accusers and called them “opportunists” taking advantage of the #MeToo movement to “defame and vilify” him for financial gain. The third lawsuit, launched by Repp, had yet to be filed. Nick has since filed a second countersuit against her.
Carter was not featured in the docuseries, though Fallen Idols producer Michael Hirschorn told THR that wasn’t for lack of trying. He maintains the production stayed in contact with Carter and provided him ample opportunity to speak on camera, which he refused.
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Hirschorn said the docuseries heavily features legal documents to assert that there is an established “paper trail of charges and counter-charges” surrounding Carter.
Carter’s brother, Aaron, died in 2022 at the age of 34.
As well as covering the sexual assault allegations against Carter, Fallen Angels also discusses the strained and dramatic relationship between the famous siblings, as well as alleged rifts in their extended family.
All four episodes of Fallen Idols: Nick and Aaron Carter are currently available to stream on Max.
The allegations against Nick Carter
The first claims against Nick Carter came from Henschel, who is a former pop singer with the girl group Dream. She publicly accused Carter of sexual assault in 2017 but did not file her lawsuit in Los Angeles until last year, after California’s Sexual Abuse and Cover Up Accountability Act was passed in 2022.
Henschel said Carter, then 22, forced her to perform oral sex when she was 18. She alleged she did not consent, and told him such, but was made to perform the sex act “against her will.”
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Ruth filed her lawsuit in 2022 and said Carter raped her when she was 17 years old. Ruth said he invited her onto a tour bus after a concert in Tacoma, Wash., where she alleged Carter gave her alcohol. She said he forced her to perform oral sex before he raped her. Ruth alleges that she contracted human papillomavirus (HPV) from Carter.
Repp was last to make a legal claim and filed her lawsuit in Clark County, Nev., last year. She has alleged Carter raped her when she was 15 years old.
She said Carter sexually assaulted her multiple times in 2003, when he was 22 and 23 years old. In her lawsuit, she alleged he raped her in a yacht cabin in Florida in August 2003 while she was an intoxicated minor, then sexually assaulted her on a bus days later. Repp said she was also raped by Carter in a separate instance onboard a yacht, and that he allowed other men to watch.
Repp also told the court she contracted HPV from Nick.
All of the women’s allegations were reiterated across the four episodes of Fallen Idols: Nick and Aaron Carter. Nick has denied all of the claims.
The three lawsuits are ongoing.
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If you or someone you know is experiencing abuse or is involved in an abusive situation, please visit the Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime for help. They are also reachable toll-free at 1-877-232-2610.
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