ABC will no longer air A Very Backstreet Holiday. Filmed in Los Angeles last month, the holiday special was set to air on December 14, 2022 and feature each of the Backstreet Boys, including Nick Carter. However, the holiday special was pulled from the schedule after Nick Carter was accused of raping and infecting a woman with HPV in February 2021.
On December 8, 2022, a 39-year-old woman by the name of Shannon “Shay” Ruth filed a sexual battery lawsuit against Nick Carter. Ruth says Carter raped her and infected her with HPV when she was 17 years old. Carter has denied the allegations levied against him.
“This claim about an incident that supposedly took place more than 20 years ago is not only legally meritless but also entirely untrue,” Carter’s attorney, Michael Holtz, told Variety.
The lawsuit filed by Shannon “Shay” Ruth and her attorneys centers around an alleged incident in Tacoma, Washington following a Backstreet Boys concert in February 2021. At a press conference in Los Angeles, Ruth said that the pop singer forced herself onto her as she “begged him to stop.” Afterward, she says that Carter called her a “retarded little bitch” and told her that no one would believe her if she spoke up.
“Hello, my name is Shay and he last 21 years have been filled with pain, confusion, frustration, shame and self-harm that are a direct result of Nick Carter raping me. Even though I’m autistic and live with cerebral palsy, I believe that nothing has affected me more than or had a more lasting impact on my life than what Nick Carter did and said to me,” Ruth said.
“My motivation for coming forward today and filing this lawsuit is to stop Nick Carter from assaulting more teens and women.”
