Backstreet Boys’ Nick Carter Denies Claim that He Raped Singer Melissa Schuman

Pop star Nick Carter says he is “shocked and saddened” by allegations that he raped former pop star Melissa Schuman some fifteen years ago.

“I am shocked and saddened by Ms. Schuman’s accusations. Melissa never expressed to me while we were together or at any time since that anything we did was not consensual. We went on to record a song and perform together, and I was always respectful and supportive of Melissa both personally and professionally,” Carter said in a statement to People.

“This is the first that I am hearing about these accusations, nearly two decades later. It is contrary to my nature and everything I hold dear to intentionally cause someone discomfort or harm,” the Backstreet Boy said.

Schuman detailed the alleged assault last week in a post on her blog, Melissa Explains It All, alleging that Carter “forced to engage in an act against my will” after inviting her to his house. Schuman, a former member of the all-girl pop group Dream, was 18 at the time while Carter was 22.

Shuman said that she and Carter went into his bedroom and kissing soon turned into nonconsensual oral sex and intercourse.

“He threw me on the bed and climbed on top of me. Again, I told him that I was a virgin and I didn’t want to have sex. I told him that I was saving myself for my future husband. I said it over and over again. He whispered in my ear as to entice me, ‘I could be your husband,'” Schuman alleges of Carter.

“He was relentless, refusing to take my no’s for an answer,” she added. “He was heavy, too heavy to get out from under him. Then I felt it, he put something inside of me. I asked him what it was and he whispered in my ear once more, ‘It’s all me baby.'”

The singer said she didn’t come forward with her story at the time of the alleged assault because she feared the fallout from her account would damage her young career. But Schuman admits that while “traumatized” she did perform alongside Carter after the alleged incident. She later lost “interest in pursuing a career as a recording artist.”

“I was broken. I was tired. I was traumatized,” she wrote.

Schuman took to Twitter to thank those who supported her after she went public with her allegations against Carter.

“I just want to thank everyone for the outpouring of love and support,” she tweeted. “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,” she continued. “Thank you for aiding me in the healing that I so desperately needed. I am free now.”

Carter is the latest in a string of entertainment figures to be accused of sexual assault.

Follow Jerome Hudson on Twitter @jeromeehudson