Disclaimer: This article contains mentions of assault. Reader discretion is advised.
Investigation Discovery’s Fallen Idols documentary examines sexual assault allegations against Nick Carter, including Melissa Schuman’s alleged rape. According to TODAY, Schuman, one of the three women accusing Carter of rape, was in the girl group Dream and is an actress. She alleged that Carter, the Backstreet Boys member, raped her in 2003, per People Magazine. She was 18 years old and a virgin at the time of the alleged incident, which occurred at Carter’s Santa Monica apartment.
TODAY reported that Melissa Schuman is discussing the allegations in ID’s Fallen Idols: Nick and Aaron Carter. She first spoke about the alleged sexual assault in a 2017 blog post. In the documentary, Schuman claimed to have faced “hell on earth” after publishing the blog about the alleged assault. She claimed to have received several hateful messages from Carter’s fans and backed her claims with screenshots. One of the documentary episodes displayed these screenshots.
Nick Carter responded to Schuman’s accusations, claiming he was “shocked and saddened.” Carter stated that she “never expressed” to him “that anything we did was not consensual.” He added, “This is the first that I am hearing about these accusations, nearly two decades later.” Schuman, who couldn’t file a lawsuit against the singer back then, filed one in January 2023.
ID’s Fallen Idols: Nick and Aaron Carter, a six-part documentary series, chronicles the rise and fall of the duo. The limited series airs on May 27, May 28, and May 31.
Nick Carter allegations: What did Melissa Schuman reveal in Fallen Idols?
Melissa Shuman described Nick Carter’s 2003 alleged assault in ID’s Fallen Idols documentary series. She gave graphic details about the assault, claiming that it occurred while they were working as co-stars in The Hollow film, stated Entertainment Weekly. She alleged that Carter invited her over to his Santa Monica apartment, where he assaulted her in his bathroom. Shuman said, “I knew in the past that he had been attracted to me, I didn’t give it much thought. He seemed like a regular guy, and I was looking forward to getting to know more about him.”
Shuman, then 18, alleged that Carter offered her a cosmopolitan and invited her to listen to his office. She claimed they were going to his office to listen to some of his in-progress music. The actress added, “He goes, ‘Come sit on my lap'” after which he “pulls me into him, and he’s kissing me, and we’re kissing.” She recalled being “surprised and taken aback” but remembered thinking, “‘It’s not a big deal, it’s just a kiss, plenty of people kiss.'”
According to Melissa Schuman’s claims in the Fallen Idol documentary, Nick Carter then moved into the bathroom. She alleged that Carter “shuts the door, and he continues to kiss me, and then he puts me up on the counter.” Schuman said she felt “him unbuttoning my pants” and claimed that she tried to “stop him.” The then-18-year-old told the singer, “I don’t wanna go any further.” She added, “He did not listen to me” despite her resistance. “I told him no,” she said. However, Carter allegedly “started to perform oral sex” on her, which she described as “horrific.”
Schuman revealed in Fallen Idols that after someone briefly interrupted the assault, Carter forced her to reciprocate. She claimed he sat on the counter and said, “‘Now do it to me,'” to which she responded, “‘No, I’m not gonna do that.'” Schuman claimed he “started to get very angry with me and irritated with me that I would tell him no.” According to her claims, Schuman said the ordeal did not end in the bathroom. Carter allegedly took her to the bedroom, where he raped her while she begged him to stop.
Reportedly, although Melissa Schuman first talked about the alleged sexual assault in 2017 in a blog post, she filed a lawsuit against the Backstreet Boys singer in January 2023. Nick Carter’s ex-girlfriend, Kaya Jones, who was in the Pussycat Dolls, has also appeared in the documentary. Jones talked about getting in touch with Schuman after the allegations against Carter first surfaced and offered her support.
Who are Nick Carter’s other accusers & what did they say in the documentary?
According to TODAY, Shannon “Shay” Ruth and another woman, who appeared as ‘Ashley’ in ID’s Fallen Idols documentary, have accused Nick Carter of sexual assault. Besides Melissa Schuman, Ruth and Ashley also open up about the alleged encounters with Carter. Each accuser has filed a lawsuit against the singer.
Ashley described Carter’s alleged assault on her as “very traumatic.” She revealed that the incident happened on a boat in Marathon, Florida, in 2003. She was only 15 years old at the time while Carter was 23, and the assault occurred thrice, reported Entertainment Weekly. Ashley stated that she was “adamantly, vocally against” the encounter.
Ashley claimed in Fallen Idols that Nick Carter “had pulled me around the back of the boat and started kissing me and touching me. She claimed to have “never even kissed a guy” back then. Ashley recalled that they “ultimately ended up inside the boat cabin” and that she “felt so drunk and out of my mind.” She revealed that Carter was “really sloppily drunk too.”
Reportedly, Ashley claimed she felt pressured at the time because Carter was popular and an “older guy who clearly had far more experience.” She alleged the two “ended up having sex” and that she was “uncomfortable.” She recalled how much it “hurt” her and feeling “really, really really stupid.'”
Ashley claimed that Carter asked her to talk later that night and offered her alcohol. She said he then “asked me to perform oral sex on him.” The accuser claimed to have initially “declined multiple times” but alleged that she “eventually gave in” because “he kept at me and kept at me and kept at me.” The two had another sexual encounter, and Nick Carter “never used protection,” she claimed in the Fallen Idols documentary.
Shannon “Shay” Ruth, another accuser, was the first to file a lawsuit against Nick Carter in December 2022, per TODAY. Ruth claimed the alleged incident occurred in 2001 during a bus tour. She was 17 years old at the time. In the lawsuit, Ruth alleged that Carter invited her to the tour bus after meeting her at a meet and greet following a Backstreet Boys concert at the Tacoma Dome. Ruth stated that she was a virgin when the assault happened.
Then, in January 2023, Carter reportedly filed a countersuit against Ruth. The suit also lists Melissa Schuman and her father Jerome Schuman. Jerome also makes an appearance on ID’s Fallen Idols documentary. Carter’s countersuit stated that Melissa Schuman, her father, and the other two accusers were conspiring against the singer. It said that the allegations brought against him are a “conspiracy to defame and vilify Carter.” They intend to “ruin Carter’s reputation for the purposes of garnering attention and fame and/or extorting money from Carter.”
Jerome Schuman also appears in ID’s Fallen Idols documentary. He, along with Melissa Schuman and Shay Ruth, deny the allegations Nick Carter made in the countersuit. In the documentary, Ruth said, “Nobody manipulated me or forced me or planned out any conspiracy or anything else.” Jerome Schuman added that their only intention “is to attain justice.”
The remaining episodes of ID’s Fallen Idols: Nick and Aaron Carter documentary will air on May 28 and May 31.
