Nick Carter Countersues Sexual Assault Accuser For $2 Million In Damages, Calls It A Smear Campaign
Feb. 2 2023, Published 1:12 p.m. ET
After being accused of sexual battery over 21 years ago, Nick Carter is firing back with a countersuit against Shannon Ruth for more than $2.35 million he says she’s cost the boy band, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Ruth initially sued Nick back in December, claiming he sexually assaulted her after a concert back in 2001 when she was underage, RadarOnline.com previously reported.
Now Nick has countersued, saying he won’t allow himself to be smeared by Ruth’s accusations, which he fiercely denies, and states her lawsuit is the culmination of a years-long conspiracy to take him down, TMZ has reported.
The court documents go on to say that Nick believes Ruth was coached by a father and daughter, Jerome and Melissa Schuman, to make these false claims about him and it was all part of an extortion attempt.
Nick also states all three of them were trying to take advantage of the #MeToo movement.
Carter also accused Ruth of changing her story over and over again, as he says she initially claimed she was abused by someone else at a 2001 Backstreet Boys show, then claimed it was Nick who physically abused her and then ultimately accused Nick of sexual assault.
He claims the Schumans have been “coaxing” Ruth to “inflate” her allegations.
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Nick mentions Ruth waited years to report her sexual battery allegations and stated an independent investigation was completed and it resulted in no criminal charges.
In addition, Carter states Ruth tried to extort him through civil attorneys, but they abandoned her case when they were presented with the cold, hard facts.
Because of Ruth’s lawsuit, Carter claims The Backstreet Boys had to cancel appearances and endorsement deals, which cost them more than $2.35 million.
On top of all that, Nick also claims his late brother, Aaron Carter, was dragged into the conspiracy, saying Ruth and the Schumans preyed on Aaron before his death and exploiting "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."
However, Nick says Aaron ultimately realized he was being used by Ruth and the Schumans, apologized to Nick and publicly stated the accusers were lying.
On the day Aaron passed away, Nick claims Jerome Schuman tweeted, “I am sad that the chess game we started together was never finished.”
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Carter’s attorney, Michael Holtz, said, "As our Counterclaim sets out in detail, Nick has been the target of a malicious and long-running conspiracy. He has never done the outrageous things of which he has been accused; in fact, he is the victim of a calculated and concerted disinformation campaign designed to destroy his reputation."
Holtz said Nick is looking “forward to setting out the truth” and “vindicating himself in court.”