Nick Carter can go ahead with plan to sue rape accuser
Nick Carter has again been given the go ahead to sue his rape accuser for defamation after her anti-SLAPP motion was denied on appeal.
Nick Carter has again been given the go ahead to sue his rape accuser for defamation.
The Backstreet Boys star was accused of sexual assault in a 2017 blog post by Melissa Schuman, who alleged he raped her in his Santa Monica apartment when she was 18 and still a virgin back in 2003, and on Tuesday (28.01.25), the Nevada Supreme Court rejected the accuser's appeal from a previous ruling and once again denied her anti-SLAPP motion - a request to dismiss a lawsuit based on protected speech - because the 45-year-old singer had provided enough evidence to suggest the former Dream singer and her father Jerry had knowingly "published defamatory statements" about him.
Documents obtained by People magazine stated: “We conclude that Carter provided sufficient evidence that, if believed, shows that the Schumans published defamatory statements with knowledge that they were false or with reckless disregard for their veracity.
"Thus, the district court did not err in denying the anti-SLAPP special motion to dismiss. Accordingly, we order the judgment of the district court affirmed.”
The ruling stated the anti-SLAPP motion was denied because “though the Schumans had met their burden on the first prong of the anti-SLAPP framework, Carter had met his burden on the second prong.” The first prong is in connection with free speech, but the second meant Nick had to show “evidence of a probability of prevailing on the claim.”
The 'I Want It That Way' hitmaker's legal team praised the decision.
Attorneys Liane Wakayama and Dale Hayes Jr. said in a statement: “Following this unflinching decision by the Nevada Supreme Court, Mr. Carter is free to pursue his defamation, extortion and conspiracy claims against Melissa and Jerry Schuman.
“The Schumans and their co-conspirators have run out of excuses and will finally be held accountable for their protracted campaign to defame and extort Mr. Carter.”
Melissa was named in a countersuit that Nick filed in February 2023 against Shannon Ruth, who had sued him two months prior for alleged sexual battery. In the countersuit, the pop star accused the women of taking advantage of the #MeToo movement in order to launch a conspiracy to “defame and vilify” him for attention and money.
The 'Everybody (Backstreet's Back) hitmaker has denied all the allegations against him, including those of an anonymous woman who alleged he assaulted her on multiple occasions in 2003 when she was just 15 years old.
