Backstreet Boys member Nick Carter has decided to countersue a woman who accused him nearly two months ago of sexually assaulting her in 2001.
Carter filed a countersuit on February 2, 2023, against his accuser, Shannon “Shay’’ Ruth. The singer was sued by Ruth for sexual battery in December 2022. Carter has also decided to sue Melissa Schuman.
Schuman, a former teen pop star, accused Carter of rape in 2017. Court documents released by Carter’s attorney accused Schuman and Ruth of aiming to “harass, defame and extort” his client.
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It will be recalled that in 2017, Schuman, in a blog post that has since been deleted, alleged that Carter raped her. The singer would deny the allegations then, insisting that “Melissa never expressed to me while we were together or at any time since that anything we did was not consensual.’’
When quizzed on what she would like to say to Carter on the Dr. Oz Show in December 2017, Schuman said:
“That I forgive you…That I don’t want anything from you. I wish you only the best. I don’t want your money. I didn’t do this to hurt you or your family. I did this for me, because I needed this healing.’’
It would take Shannon “Ruth’’ Shay 20 years to file a lawsuit in December 2022, alleging that she was assaulted by Carter in 2001 after attending a Backstreet Boys concert. Ruth was 17 at the time of the alleged incident.
Reacting to the allegations, Carter’s attorney said:
“This claim about an incident that supposedly took place more than 20 years ago is not only legally meritless but also entirely untrue.’’
The countersuit filed by Carter accused both women of using the #MeToo movement as a base to “defame and vilify Carter and otherwise ruin his reputation for the purposes of garnering attention and fame and/or extorting money from Carter.’’
Credit: E!