Melissa Schuman, former member of the 2000s girl group Dream, has accused Nick Carter of sexual assault.
In a lengthy post on her blog, Melissa Explains It All, on Saturday, November 18, the “He Loves U Not” singer, 33, claimed that the Backstreet Boys crooner, 37, assaulted her when she was 18 and he was 22.
Schuman wrote that she and a friend were invited to Carter’s apartment during a day off from the movie they were filming together, The Hollow. Shuman, who said she was a virgin at the time, claimed that Carter then brought her into a bathroom and they started kissing.
The “This Is Me” singer alleged that Carter removed her pants and ignored her pleas for him to stop. She claimed he performed oral sex on her and then demanded she do the same for him.
“My thought was the only way to get out was to get him to finish what he had started,” Shuman wrote in her blog post. “That’s where I saw myself, my reflection, watching myself do something that I was sickened by. Watching myself be assaulted, forced to engage in an act against my will.”
Shuman then alleges that the “I Want It That Way” singer took her into a bedroom and assaulted her. She claimed that she feared jeopardizing her career if she spoke out about the alleged encounter. Shuman wrote that she considered pressing charges against Carter but was told she “would likely be buried in humiliation, accused of being fame hungry, and it would ultimately hurt me professionally as well as publicly.”
She took to Twitter on Monday, November 20, to express her gratitude to fans for supporting her decision to speak out about the alleged incident. “I just want to thank everyone for the outpouring of love and support,” Shuman wrote. “Thank you for bearing witness to my story. Thank you for providing me a safe place to be open and vulnerable. I love you all. Thank you for aiding me in the healing that I so desperately needed. I am free now.”
Carter has yet to respond to Shuman’s claims. Us Weekly has reached out to Carter for a statement.
