Nick Carter has been accused of raping a minor in 2001. Shannon Ruth, now 39, alleges that Carter invited her into his tour bus after a concert, offered her a drink the singer called “VIP Juice”, and then pulled down his pants and exposed himself before forcing himself on her. Ruth, who is autistic and has cerebral palsy, was 17 at the time. She says he also infected her with HPV.
“The last 21 years have been filled with pain, confusion, frustration, shame and self-harm that are a direct result of Nick Carter raping me," Ruth offered at a press conference. "Even though I’m autistic and live with cerebral palsy, I believe that nothing has affected me more or had a more lasting impact on my life than what Nick Carter did and said to me."
But she's not alone. Ruth's attorney, Mark J. Boskovich, says three other women - named only as Jane Doe - are named in a joint lawsuit alongside Ruth. Carter has denied the allegations, and in a statement, his attorney Michael Holtz calls the allegations “entirely untrue."
- "Unfortunately, for several years now, Ms. Ruth has been manipulated into making false allegations about Nick - and those allegations have changed repeatedly and materially over time," says Holtz. "'No one should be fooled by a press stunt orchestrated by an opportunistic lawyer - there is nothing to this claim whatsoever, which we have no doubt the courts will quickly realize."