DETROIT, MICHIGAN - DECEMBER 06: Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys performs onstage during iHeartRadio Channel 95.5's Jingle Ball 2022 Presented by Capital One at Little Caesars Arena on December 06, 2022 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Scott Legato/Getty Images for iHeartRadio)
An autistic woman with cerebral palsy has come forward accusing the Backstreet Boys’ Nick Carter of raping her when she was only 17-years-old, and the pop star has since responded to the accusation.
On Thursday, Shannon “Shay” Ruth held a press conference claiming Carter, 42, sexually assaulted her when she was underage back in 2001, according to Page Six.
Carter denied the bombshell allegations rape, which the 39-year-old tearfully recalled Thursday.
“After he raped me, I remember him calling me a ‘re****ed little bitch’ and grabbing me and leaving bruises on my arm.”
Ruth added that despite being disabled, she says “nothing has affected me more than what Nick Carter did and said to me,” and that he told her no one would believe her if she said anything.
“Even though I’m autistic and live with cerebral palsy, I believe that nothing has affected me more or had a more lasting impact on my life than what Nick Carter did and said to me,” the now 39-year-old alleged, with tears in her eyes.
She also filed a lawsuit Thursday alongside three anonymous women, identified only as Jane Does, who similarly claimed Carter sexually assaulted them.
Page Six, which obtained a copy of the criminal complaint, Carter reportedly lured Ruth on to his tour bus following a concert in Tacoma, Washington, where he offered her a red-colored drink.
Ruth says she now believes the drink was a mix of alcohol and cranberry juice.
Carter then reportedly took the then-underage fan, who was a virgin at the time, to a bed on the tour bus, where he went on to allegedly sexually assault her.
Ruth went on to say that she contracted the sexually transmitted infection HPV after the encounter with Carter.
“Just because Nick Carter is a celebrity does not mean that he is excused from his crimes,” the woman concluded. “I am a survivor and always will be.”
Meanwhile, Carter’s lawyer lambasted the accusations and lawsuit, telling the outlet that the incident “took place more than 20 years ago (and) is not only legally meritless but… untrue.”
“This claim about an incident that supposedly took place more than 20 years ago is not only legally meritless but also entirely untrue,” the Backstreet Boys member’s attorney Michael Holtz told Page Six.
Carter’s attorney attempted to paint Ruth as a woman being “manipulated into making false allegations about Nick,” and that “those allegations have changed repeatedly and materially over time.”
“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. 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.”
Some fans have come to Carter’s defense, with many calling Ruth an uncredible witness due to a text reported to be from Ruth saying that Nick never hurt her like he did to the other female victims, only bullying and verbally abusing her.
ABC has since pulled a Backstreet Boys’ holiday special following the allegations, Page Six reports.
The special, titled “A Very Backstreet Holiday,” was set to air on December 14.
Earlier this month, Carter, along with fellow bandmates AJ McLean, Kevin Richarson, Brain Littrell and Howie Dorough, filmed the special, filled with songs from their 10th studio album, “A Very Backstreet Christmas.”
The special was also set to feature the likes of Seth Rogen, Meghan Trainor, Rob Riggle, Nikki Glaser, Ron Funches and Atsuko, according to the outlet.
Carter just recently buried his troubled younger brother, Aaron, The Shade Room reported last month.
