Nick Carter Countersues ‘Opportunist’ Women Accusing Him of Sexual Assault

Nick Carter is fighting back against two women who alleged they were raped by him more than 15 years ago.

The Backstreet Boys singer filed a countersuit against Shannon Ruth, 39, who sued him in December for alleged sexual battery. In his countersuit, Nick, 43, is also suing Melissa Schuman, a former teen pop singer with the girl group Dream, who accused him of rape in 2017.

The countersuit states the two women took advantage of the #MeToo movement and used it to launch a five-year conspiracy to "defame and vilify Carter and otherwise ruin his reputation for the purposes of garnering attention and fame and/or extorting money from Carter," according to the suit obtained by People.

Carter's countersuit describes Schuman and Ruth as "opportunists." It further accuses them of trying to "destroy innocent lives." He says their accusation caused more than $2.3 million in business losses. “A Very Backstreet Holiday" was pulled from airing on ABC following Ruth's lawsuit. Ruth's attorney, Mark J. Boskovich responded to Carter's suit: "Why should Nick Carter be believed with his long history of abusing females? A jury will weigh the evidence and decide."

Meanwhile, Schuman, now 38, said in 2017 that Carter allegedly raped her while the two were working on a project together in the early 2000s. Schuman wrote a blog on her website at the time that stated she was invited to Carter's home, and the two began kissing in the bathroom before he performed oral sex on her despite her objection. She was 18 and he was 22 at the time, she said. She says she told Carter that she was a virgin and was saving herself for marriage. But, she says, Carter allegedly led her to his bedroom, where she claims that he raped her. The blog post read: "He told me, 'don’t worry. I won’t tell anybody.'"

Prosecutors opted not to pursue Schuman's case because the statute of limitations had expired. “Melissa never expressed to me while we were together or at any time since that anything we did was not consensual,” Carter said. “We went on to record a song and perform together. I was always respectful and supportive of Melissa both personally and professionally.”

In December, Ruth, who has autism and cerebral palsy, announced she was suing Carter during a press conference. She claimed she was waiting in an autograph line after a 2001 Backstreet Boys show in Tacoma, Washington. Ruth claims Carter gave her alcohol and assaulted her on his bus. The singer allegedly asked Ruth if she wanted a drink. When she requested apple juice, he gave her “VIP juice,” which she believes was a mixture of cranberry juice and alcohol. After the alleged assault, Ruth says she contracted “the human papillomavirus (commonly known as HPV), a sexually transmitted infection known to cause health problems such as genital warts and cervical cancer.”

Carter has previously denied both allegations. The countersuit states he believes he has never met Ruth. The claims in the countersuit also allege that Schuman took advantage of his late brother Aaron Carter, who died in November. "The Schumans' timing couldn't have been better since, at the time, Aaron was addicted to drugs, battling serious mental health issues, and engaged in a misguided campaign of retaliation against Carter and other members of his family who were worried about Aaron and pushing him to seek professional help," according to the suit. "Schuman, Jerome, and Ruth exploited Aaron's fragile condition and family stresses to cloak their defamatory campaign with credibility, relentlessly and repeatedly using Aaron to try to legitimize their frivolous tales."

According to the lawsuit, Aaron realized he was being used and apologized to Carter. "In the months leading up to his recent death, Aaron not only apologized to Carter for his involvement in the Counter-Defendants' smear campaign, but publicly stated that Schuman and Ruth were liars," the lawsuit states. "Just as true victims of sexual assault have the right to seek justice and be heard, so too do persons falsely accused of sexual assault have the right to due process of law and to defend themselves by speaking the truth."

Despite the legal battle, Nick and his fellow former boy banders performed in Chile for Vina Del Mar yesterday. Watch a clip Nick shared on his Instagram below:

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