LOS ANGELES, United States (Reuters) — Backstreet Boy singer Nick Carter on Wednesday (November 22) denied an allegation that he raped a teen pop singer 15 years ago, saying he was “shocked and saddened” by the accusation.
Melissa Schuman, who was a member of girl group Dream in the late 1990s, claimed in a lengthy blog post earlier this month that Carter forced her to have oral sex and raped her in 2002 when she was 18 and he was 22.
Reuters was unable to independently confirm Schuman’s allegation.
“I am shocked and saddened by Ms. Schuman’s accusations,” Carter, now 37, said in a statement that was emailed to media outlets.
“Melissa never expressed to me while we were together or at any time since that anything we did was not consensual….It is contrary to my nature and everything I hold dear to intentionally cause someone discomfort or harm,” he said in the statement.
Schuman could not immediately be reached for comment on Carter’s statement. She left Dream in 2002, and after the band made a brief comeback in 2015, it disbanded again in 2016.
