Now that Backstreet Boy Nick Carter has been accused of rape, ABC will no longer air A Very Backstreet Holiday. The music special will be replaced by comedy repeats in the 8 PM hour on Dec. 14.
In a lawsuit, Shannon “Shay” Ruth, now 39, claims that Carter raped her when she was a teenager after a Backstreet Boy concert. The plaintiff claims that she was just 17 when Carter took her into his tour bus following a show in Tacoma, Washington in 2001. She claims the singer gave her what he called “VIP juice” and then sexually assaulted her.
“Carter tried to scare me into silence by saying no one would believe me if I told what happened,” Ruth said during a Beverly Hills news conference announcing the lawsuit, which was filed in Nevada.
“Carter took away my childhood and my innocence”
“He was nasty and threatening, saying I was going to jail if I told. He also said he’d turn people against me because he was Nick Carter and he had the power to wreck my life.
DWTS Alum, Aaron Carter, Dead at 34
“Carter took away my childhood and my innocence, but he cannot and will not take away my strength or my truth. I am a survivor and always will be.”
Ruth’s attorney, Mark Boskovich, said the investigation into her allegations led to other alleged victims who claim they were sexually assaulted by the singer, and like Ruth, “they were all infected with HPV.”
Three other anonymous accusers claim they were also assaulted.
Three other anonymous Jane Doe accusers experienced similar assaults by Carter between 2003 and 2006, Boskovich claims. One of the three unnamed accusers was allegedly underage.
Ruth is on the autism spectrum and has a mild case of cerebral palsy, said her attorney
An attorney for Carter, Michael Holts, Michael Holtz, released a statement calling the allegation “not only legally meritless but also entirely untrue.”
“Unfortunately, for several years now, Ms. Ruth has been manipulated into making false allegations against Nick, and those allegations have changed repeatedly and materially over time,” he said. “No one should be fooled by a press stunt orchestrated by an opportunistic lawyer. There is nothing to this claim whatsoever, which we have no doubt the courts will quickly realize.”
The singer has been accused of assault before
Carter has been accused of assault previously. In 2017, Melissa Schuman, a former member of singing group Dream, publicly accused him of sexually assaulting her in 2003 when she was 18 years old. At the time, Carter denied the allegations by saying Schuman hadn’t previously expressed to him that “anything we did was not consensual.”
Prosecutors investigated Schuman’s claims and declined to bring criminal charges against Carter, citing the statute of limitations were expired.
Carter appeared on The Masked Singer and Dancing with the Stars
Aside from being a member of the Backstreet Boys, Carter has appeared in several competitive reality shows. Most recently, he finished in third place as the Crocodile on The Masked Singer season 4 in 2020. He also competed on Dancing with the Stars season 21 in 2015 dancing with pro partner Sharna Burgess. The pair finished in second place. He also served as a DWTS guest judge for week 6 on season 24.
The holiday special had been set to air December 14 and repeat on December 20.
