Nick Carter sues rape accuser for $2.5 million; claims she intentionally defamed him

Backstreet Boys member Nick Carter has formally filed a countersuit against Melissa Schuman, his accuser from the Dream girl group, seeking $2.5 million in damages.

The countersuit, submitted to the Superior Court of California on July 26 and obtained by Billboard, disputes Schuman’s allegations. Carter claims Schuman, who publicly acknowledged her struggling career and desire for online relevance in a 2014 YouTube video titled ‘I Need to Become Important On the Internet,’ and her father have orchestrated efforts to defame him.

Carter's counterclaim asserts that Schuman made several defamatory statements by naming him as her rapist on social media, in a documentary, and during press conferences from September 2023 to May 2024. He maintains that their encounter was consensual and claims her allegations are an effort to revive her ‘dwindling career.’

Carter alleges that Schuman, knowing his business dealings, intentionally made these statements to damage his reputation and disrupt his business opportunities, advantages, and contracts.

In his response to Schuman’s lawsuit, Carter, through his attorneys, has denied ‘each and every’ allegation made by Schuman. He argues that her complaint ‘fails to state facts’ and should be dismissed based on the statute of limitations and the unclean hands doctrine, which bars relief for parties involved in inequitable conduct, according to Westlaw Today.

In August 2023, a judge allowed Carter’s defamation countersuit to proceed, rejecting a dismissal attempt.

Schuman had previously accused Carter of sexually assaulting her in 2003, while they were filming ‘The Hollow’. She was 18 at that time. She alleged that Carter gave her drug-laced alcohol at a party and assaulted her repeatedly despite her lack of consent.

Carter is also facing a similar lawsuit from Shannon ‘Shay’ Ruth, who claims he raped her on a tour bus in 2001 when she was 17.

Ruth sought to dismiss Carter’s countersuit under Nevada’s anti-SLAPP law, but a judge ruled Carter could pursue defamation claims against both Ruth and Schuman.

Additionally, a third sexual assault accusation has emerged. Filed on August 28 in Las Vegas, a Jane Doe, identified as ‘A.R.,’ alleges that Carter assaulted her multiple times in 2003, when she was 15, resulting in sexually transmitted diseases and other lasting effects.

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