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Backstreet Boys singer Nick Carter launches a $2.5 million countersuit against his longtime sexual assault accuser Melissa Schuman.
Backstreet Boys singer Nick Carter has filed a countersuit against his longtime sexual assault accuser, Melissa Schuman, alleging emotional distress and saying she cost him work. He claims her version of events never occurred and asks for $2.5 million in damages.
Melissa Schuman is only one of the women who has accused Nick Carter of sexual assault. She filed a lawsuit against Carter in California over an alleged sexual assault at an apartment in 2003. Another woman, Shannon Ruth, sued Carter in Nevada over an alleged assault on a tour bus in 2001.
Nick then filed a lawsuit in Las Vegas court against Shannon, Melissa, and Melissa’s father, accusing Melissa and her father of coaching Shannon into making false allegations against him to extort a large settlement. Carter also denied all allegations against him, insisting any sex between them was consensual. He asked for $2 million in damages in that lawsuit.
Though the lawsuits filed in Nevada are still pending, a judge is denying Carter’s request to put the Los Angeles lawsuit on hold until the Las Vegas case is settled. Now, Carter is filing his countersuit against Melissa in Los Angeles.
In his countersuit, Carter claims he and Melissa had consensual sex after meeting on the set of a television movie they were filming in 2003. She was a member of the pop girl group Dream, which was active from 1998 to 2003. Carter says she “struggled over the years to stay relevant.”
He says that in 2017, Melissa accused him in a blog post of publicly raping her on the night in question in 2003. Further, Carter asserts that Melissa and her father “recruited and groomed third parties to defame him.”
According to Carter’s filing, Melissa’s appearances on Dr. Oz’s show, as well as interviews and appearances like the 2024 documentary, “Fallen Idols: Nick and Aaron Carter,” were designed to “falsely claim” that he had sexually assaulted her.
These allegations cost him a $350,000 deal with MeUndies, a $1 million deal with Vrbo, an endorsement deal with Roblox, a brand partnership with The Children’s Place worth $125,000, and an endorsement with children’s brand Tonies, Carter asserts.
Carter’s lawyer writes, “After hearing [Melissa’s] defamatory statements, the foregoing companies, including others, terminated their contracts and business relationships with [Nick], costing [him] millions.”
The lawsuit ultimately demands $2.5 million in damages, punitive damages, and attorney fees. He also claims to be suffering from PTSD due to the “false” allegations against him.
Currently, Nick Carter is finishing up a European summer tour in Spain.
