New Delhi, India

Nick Carter has responded to Melissa Schuman's accusation of sexual assault. The Backstreet Boys singer has denied Schuman's allegations and has countersued her for $2.5 million. 

Carter's filing comes over a year after Schuman sued him in April 2023 for sexual assault and battery. In her lawsuit, she alleged that Carter invited her to his Santa Monica, Calif., apartment after they filmed teen thriller The Hollow together in 2003. Schuman claimed Carter gave her a sedative and sexually assaulted her while she was there at his apartment. He was 22 and she was 18 when the incident took place.

In his counterclaim filed in the Superior Court of California in Los Angeles County on July 26, Carter alleged Schuman, who was the lead singer of the 90's girl group Dream, made false statements when she first accused him of sexual assault on her blog in 2017. She later gave several interviews where she backed up her claims.

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According to Carter, Schuman continued to make several defamatory statements when she called him a rapist on social media, in a documentary and in press conferences between September 2023 and May 2024. 

Carter insists their sexual encounter was consensual and her allegations were an attempt to revive her dwindling career.

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Carter's lawsuit states that Schuman is well aware of his business dealings and intentionally made the statements "with a specific intent to damage Carter's reputation and interfere with his business opportunities, advantages and contracts," per his filing.

The documents also allege Schuman's complaint wasn't brought in good faith, and stated, "Carter did not sexually assault" her. The filing goes on to deny any attempt by Carter to "cover up" her allegations.

Not just Schuman, Carter has also denied sexually assaulting Shannon Ruth who had earlier sued him in December 2022 for alleged sexual battery.

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Carter filed a countersuit against Ruth in Nevada after she claimed he raped her on a tour bus in 2001 when she was 17.