Nick Carter may have been larger than life in the late '90s, but addiction,
family battles, and recent lawsuits could make this Backstreet Boy inconsolable.
Nick Carter started off 2016 with an arrest for choking a bouncer, Skylar Carden, outside of
a Key West bar called the Hog's Breath Saloon. According to a lawsuit filed by Carden, Carter
became aggressive when he was kicked out of the bar for his "unruly and disrespectful" behavior.
Mark DiCowden, Carden's attorney, described Carter as being a, quote,
"Backstreet thug" that inflicted pain and suffering onto his client.
"What?!"
"What is happening?"
The details surrounding the altercation between Carter and Carden were confirmed
to TMZ by sources close to the matter. They reported seeing
Carter squeezing Carden's larynx and said that Carter hit Carden during the assault.
DiCowden said Carden was just doing his job and didn't deserve to be attacked. Carter
was arrested on misdemeanor battery charges. The Monroe County Sheriff's Office's incident
report claimed that Carter appeared to be intoxicated when the officers arrived. The
report also declared that surveillance footage captured the physical exchange between the men.
The case reportedly came to a close in July of 2016. Sources close to the situation reported
that Carter opted to make the matter go away by agreeing to a six-figure
settlement with Carden's legal team. As part of the arrangement, Carter also agreed to 25
hours of community service in exchange for the battery charges disappearing from his record.
Nick Carter's name was splashed across the headlines in an unflattering way March 11,
2005 when media outlets reported that he had been formally charged
with drunk driving in Huntington Beach, California. Carter was 25
years old at the time of his arrest. According to Lieutenant Dave Bunetta:
"The officer that stopped him noticed some traffic violation was occurring. When he
was contacted by the officers they conducted an investigation which would include field
sobriety tests and they formed the opinion he was under the influence."
Carter's vehicle was impounded by police, and he was taken into custody for investigation
of drunk driving. The bad press came at a particularly bad time,
as the Backstreet Boys were preparing to embark on a North American tour.
Assistant District Attorney Ted Burnett later reported that Carter was charged
with one count of driving under the influence and one count of driving with a blood alcohol
level above 0.08. Carter's publicist attempted damage control for the star's
smeared reputation. Juliette Harris released a statement on behalf of the famous singer,
offering a limited explanation to his alleged impairment at the time of his arrest, which read:
"Nick Carter deeply regrets the current situation. He is on doctor prescribed
medication and was unaware of its interaction possibilities."
"It's been a rollercoaster ride, we've gone up and gone down."
Some stars turn to alcohol after skyrocketing to fame, but Nick Carter's issues with substance
abuse began at a very young age. He detailed the extent of his deep-rooted issues with alcohol in
his memoir, "Facing the Music and Living to Talk About It." Nick revealed that he
was raised in an environment that normalized the consumption of alcohol. He wrote that his first
home was an apartment above The Yankee Rebel bar in Jamestown, New York, which sometimes doubled as
a strip club. The establishment was owned by his parents and his grandmother. According to Carter:
"Family legend has it that when I was two years old, I crawled into one of the Yankee Rebel's
liquor storage rooms where I was caught drinking for the first time. My parents
always laughed at that. I laughed too, for a while, and then I didn't laugh at it any more."
Carter explained that his parents were always stressed about having enough money,
and that they often drank excessively as a way of handling the pressures of their
lives. He highlighted the prevalence of alcohol in his home, writing:
"I'm shocked to see home movies taken when I was nine and ten; in them,
I'm pretending to be drinking. [...] Looking back at how alcohol was part of our playtime, I realize
just how deeply my parents' drinking affected me. It was as if I was programmed to drink."
In 2019, Carter's mom appeared on "The Doctors" to discuss her
issues with alcohol abuse. His mother admitted to having a drinking problem,
which was fueled by her husband's alleged affair and their tumultuous divorce.
"I would drink everyday. I'd usually go through a whole pint of vodka by noon."
The rise to superstardom with the Backstreet Boys took a toll on Nick Carter. He was catapulted
into instant fame at the age of 13, and by 18 he began to combine alcohol with hard
drugs. In "Facing the Music and Living To Talk About It," Carter wrote about moving
from alcohol to harder drugs, including cocaine and ecstasy, when he was 18 or 19.
He outlined a three-to-four month period where he used ecstasy to excess, writing:
"I probably regret taking that illegal and dangerous drug more than anything
I've ever done. I'm afraid the amount I did caused changes in my brain that are
responsible for bouts of depression that I now struggle to control."
Carter recalled that on another night, he had mixed alcohol and prescription painkillers:
"I remember going back to my condo, getting in bed alone,
listening to my heart pound and feeling as if my body was falling apart from the
inside out... But despite those fears, I never seemed to learn from my mistakes."
Carter did eventually turn his life around. During a 2015 interview with
"Entertainment Tonight," he was asked what made him get sober.
"When you look in the mirror and you're doing things and
you're seeing that you don't look healthy."
The human body can only endure so much, and Nick Carter's long-term use of alcohol and
hard drugs took a heavy toll on his health. His years of substance abuse led to a very scary
medical diagnosis that forced the star to stop in his tracks and reevaluate his life. During
an interview with Dr. Phil, Carter opened up about a life-changing health scare he
experienced. He said at one point, he was 60 pounds overweight and had frequent heart pain.
"I got checked by a doctor and I found out that I had drug and alcohol induced cardiomyopathy."
Cardiomyopathy is a disease that affects the heart muscle, making it harder for it to pump blood,
which can ultimately lead to heart failure. Faced with the reality of his failing health,
Carter made the decision to improve his life. The
diagnosis changed everything for the star, as he explained:
"You have to find that moment in your life, that moment of clarity and say,
'Is this who you want to be the rest of your life or do you deserve more?'"
"I made that choice right there and said I do not want to be this person anymore
and that's what you have to do." "I decided I deserved better."
The Carter family feud ran so deep that the family was estranged during a very sensitive and critical
time. Carter's sister Leslie died of a suspected drug overdose at the age of 25 and was laid to
rest in a small ceremony in Upstate New York in 2012. Carter was notably absent from the funeral
service, and he blames his fractured relationship with his family. He told TMZ at the time:
"I wanted to be at my sister's funeral, but my family has always had a complicated dynamic."
He went on to state that his family went through strategic measures to ensure he didn't attend. He
didn't elaborate on the specifics but made it clear that he felt unwelcome.
Carter opened up about missing the funeral during an interview with Dr. Phil,
saying it had been his father who'd first told him about her death.
"The conversation turned into not about her death and not about the actual,
the passing and what had occurred, and more about themselves."
According to Carter, his family actually blamed him for her death. He said he was
told that his sister wouldn't have died if he had been there for her,
and that was a tough accusation for him to cope with.
Nick Carter didn't just have a tough time with his parents;
he also feuded bitterly with his brother, Aaron Carter,
and the relationship between them was volatile. It became even more strained in September 2019,
when Nick sought protection from the courts to keep Aaron away. Nick tweeted at the time:
"In light of Aaron's increasingly alarming behavior and his recent confession that he
harbors thoughts and intentions of killing my pregnant wife and unborn child, we were
left with no choice but to take every measure possible to protect ourselves and our family."
"My family continues to hurt other people around them."
The restraining order obtained against Aaron ordered him to stay at least 100 feet away from
Nick, his wife, their children, and their Las Vegas residence. Aaron's twin sister,
Angel, was also included in the restraining order against Aaron.
Despite this, however, more recent reports indicated Nick and Aaron may have been trying
to mend their broken relationship. Sadly, Aaron died on November 5,
2022. Nick paid tribute to his brother on Instagram, writing:
"Even though my brother and I have had a complicated relationship,
my love for him has never ever faded. [...] I will miss my brother more than anyone will ever
know. I love you Chizz. Now you can finally have the peace you could never find here on earth."
Melissa Schuman, a member of the band Dream, accused Nick Carter of sexual assault in 2017.
She said that she was 18 years old and a virgin when Carter allegedly forced her to engage in
sexual acts at his Santa Monica home. She detailed the alleged attack on her blog,
Melissa Explains It All, going into graphic detail about what allegedly
happened between her and Carter on the night in question. According to Schuman:
"I told him to stop, but he didn't. [...] I felt scared and trapped. He was visually and
clearly growing very angry and impatient with me. I couldn't leave. [...] He was stronger and much
bigger than me, and there was no way I would be able to open that door or have anyone help me."
Schuman learned about other victims that had accused Carter of sexual assault,
and she felt empowered to tell her story. She filed an official report with the
Santa Monica Police Department. Schuman told The Daily Beast:
"I wanted to do that for my 18-year-old self. My 18-year-old self wanted to do
that when it happened and didn't feel like it was an option. I didn't feel strong enough,
I didn't feel safe enough to do it then."
In December 2022, a former Backstreet Boys fan named Shannon Ruth filed a
lawsuit against Nick Carter, claiming he had sexually assaulted her when she was
17. Ruth is autistic and suffers from cerebral palsy. In an incident that dates back to 2001,
Ruth claims she was in line for an autograph when she was invited onto Carter's tour bus.
According to court documents, Ruth said Carter gave her a drink and called it "VIP juice." She
then claimed he committed a series of sexual attacks in spite of her asking him to stop.
Ruth's legal representatives held a press conference on December 8,
2022 to tell their client's story. They also made the claim that Carter had infected Ruth,
as well as other women, with the sexually transmitted virus HPV.
Carter denies the allegations made against him. His attorney, Michael Holtz, said in a statement:
"This claim about an incident that supposedly took place more than 20
years ago is not only legally meritless but also entirely untrue. Unfortunately,
for several years now, Ms. Ruth has been manipulated into making false allegations
about Nick — and those allegations have changed repeatedly and materially over time."
He went on to call Ruth's press conference a "press
stunt orchestrated by an opportunistic lawyer."