Nick Carter Sues Melissa Schuman, Rape Accuser, For $2.5 million

In response to Melissa Schuman’s complaint in which she accused him of sexual assault, Nick Carter has filed a formal response. The Backstreet Boys singer disputes Schuman’s allegations in his own counterclaim and is suing her for $2.5 million.

Filing comes over a year after

Schuman filed a lawsuit against Carter for sexual assault and battery in April 2023, alleging that she was sexually assaulted by Carter after they filmed The Hollow together in 2003. Schuman claimed that Carter invited her to his Santa Monica apartment, gave her a sedative, and assaulted her when she was 18.

Carter filed a counterclaim in the Superior Court of California, alleging that Schuman made false statements when she accused him of sexual assault in 2017. She later provided multiple interviews to support her claims.

Carter counterclaims Schuman’s defamatory statements during her rape allegations, claiming they were an attempt to revive her “dwindling career” and that their sexual encounter was consensual, as per his claims on social media, documentary, and press conferences between September 2023 and May 2024.

Schuman made statements to damage his reputation

Carter claims Schuman is aware of his business dealings and intentionally made statements to damage his reputation and interfere with his business opportunities, advantages, and contracts.

Carter denied all accusations made against him in Schuman’s lawsuit, claiming that her complaint “fails to state facts” and should be barred by the statute of limitations and the unclean hands doctrine, an equitable defense that bars relief to parties who have engaged in inequitable behavior.

The documents claim Schuman’s complaint was not brought in good faith and that Carter did not sexually assault her. They deny any attempt by Carter to cover up her allegations and deny allegations of sexual assault against Shannon Ruth, who sued him in December 2022 for alleged sexual battery.

Carter filed a motion in May seeking a hearing and summary judgment on Ruth’s claims for sexual battery, intentional emotional distress, and negligent emotional distress, also naming Schuman in the filing.

In response to Carter’s most recent complaint, Karen Barth Menzies, Schuman’s attorney, told PEOPLE in a statement,  “Carter’s California counter-claim makes the same arguments as his stalled Nevada lawsuit, and both show that his approach to defend sexual assault claims is to attack the victims.”

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