Backstreet Boys Excluded From The NYC Jingle Ball Livestream Amidst Nick Carter Rape Lawsuit
Backstreet Boys, the famous boy band from the 1990s, was scheduled to perform at the Z100 iHeartRadio Jingle Ball. Unfortunately, the band was omitted from the live stream and even from the social media updates.
This came after a sex assault lawsuit against one of the members, Nick Carter, resurfaced. The sexual assault allegedly happened when the woman was 17 years old, way back in 2001.
Z100 did not feature the boy band’s concert performance on its official Twitter account. The only highlight the boys got was a group chat with Elvis Duran, the radio host.
The Backstreet Boys were not included in the live stream, nor did they walk on the red carpet—a norm and tradition before the concert.
There was also supposedly an ABC special entitled A Very BackStreet Holiday, but this, too, was nixed due to the allegations against Nick. Notable performers who performed at Madison Square Garden were Charlie Puth, Demi Lovato, Dove Cameron, Dua Lipa, and Lizzo.
Nick’s lawsuit is taking a toll and is a massive blow to the entire band, who have top hits like I Want It That Way and Everybody to their credit. And this is only a few days after Shannon Ruth, a 39-year-old Las Vegas woman, accused the 42-year-old Nick of assaulting her inside a tour bus when she was just 17 years old. According to Shannon, the rape happened in Tacoma, Washington. Nick has denied the accusation.
Shannon, also called Shay by friends, has cerebral palsy and autism. Per her statement, Nick noticed the woman waiting for an autograph. He invited her on their tour bus after the Backstreet Boys performed in Tacoma. This was in February 2001.
With Shay inside the trailer, Nick allegedly pulled down his pants and exposed himself to the unknowing Shay in a bathroom, forcing her to perform oral sex on the singer and eventually raping her.
Scared, confused, ashamed, and in pain, Shay shared how she felt in the aftermath and further claimed that Nick also tried to threaten and silence her.
According to Shannon’s representing lawyer, Mark J. Boskovich, three other women are named in the lawsuit alongside his client.
Additionally, based on the court documents, Shannon claimed that when she was invited inside Nick’s bus, the singer asked her if she wanted to drink and requested apple juice. She was given cranberry juice— a red-colored beverage Nick called the “VIP juice.”
Upon tasting the beverage, Shannon knew that something was off and believed it was cranberry juice with alcohol in it. During the assault, Shannon continuously cried but claimed that Nick had just instructed her on what to do.
The sexual attack continued when Nick took her to bed. She later shared that she told Nick that she would tell people what happened, but Nick said that people would not believe her and threatened her to remain silent.
Shannon stated that she has spent the last 21 years of her life feeling negativity and experiencing thoughts of self-harm due to the rape. She also mentioned that she contracted a sexually transmitted infection, HPV, from the rape, given that she was a virgin.
According to Shannon, her motivation to speak now is to stop Nick from doing the same to teenage girls and women, and she is also seeking damages.
This is not the first time Nick has been accused of rape because in 2017, Melissa Schuman, a singer of the 90s girls’ band Dream, also accused Nick of sexually assaulting her in 2003.
Nick has kept his silence, apart from denying the allegations.
