Fallen Idols: Nick Carter faces assault allegations from three women
A new docuseries, "Fallen Idols: Nick and Aaron Carter," delves into the three sexual assault lawsuits against Backstreet Boys singer Nick Carter, who has consistently denied the claims.
The first two episodes of the series aired Monday night on ID and Max, with the final two episodes set to conclude on Tuesday night.
The initial two episodes centered on accusers Melissa Schuman and Ashley Repp, while the concluding episodes will investigate Shay Ruth's allegations.
The docuseries also features former Pussycat Dolls member Kaya Jones, who claims she dated Carter in the 2000s and reportedly talks about his anger during their relationship.
Lawsuits against Nick Carter
Schuman filed a lawsuit against Carter under California's Sexual Abuse and Cover Up Accountability Act, which permits some adult survivors of alleged sexual assaults to sue even after the 10-year statute of limitations has passed.
Carter's lawyer, Dale Hayes Jr., dismissed the allegations featured in the "Fallen Idol" docuseries as "outrageous."
Hayes told Forbes that the lawsuits 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.”
Nick Carter Countersues his accusers
In a lawsuit filed in February 2023, Carter asserted that the three women and Schuman's father had participated in a "five-year conspiracy" to “harass, defame and extort” him.
Carter alleged that Schuman and her father had "groomed and coached" Ruth and Repp to embellish and fabricate accusations against him, asserting that they had enlisted Ruth via social media and posted tweets criticizing Carter and his supporters.
In Carter's lawsuit, it was asserted that the “campaign was launched and bolstered by the #MeToo movement,” citing a blog post from 2017 published by Schuman shortly after the widespread movement against sexual abuse gained momentum, ending with the hashtag #MeToo.
"Fallen Idols" depicts the deterioration of Nick and Aaron Carter's public relationship following the emergence of sexual assault accusations. Aaron Carter purportedly defended Schuman on Instagram Live in 2019. In September 2019, Nick Carter sought a restraining order against his brother, citing concerns over his “alarming behavior” and alleging threats made by his brother to harm Nick's pregnant wife and unborn child. The docuseries also indicates that Aaron Carter's mental health may have been affected by online harassment he endured following his public feud with his brother.