Nick Carter returns to stage for first time since rape allegations

Nick Carter has returned to stage for the first time since he was accused of sexual assault by four women.

The Backstreet Boys singer, 42, appeared with bandmates Kevin Richardson, AJ McLean, Brian Littrell and Howie Dorough at iHeartRadio’s annual Jingle Ball in Madison Square Garden, New York City on Friday night (09.12.22), and was seen smiling and being cheered by the crowd.

Dressed head-to-toe in white, Nick and the group sang hits including a cover of Wham!’s ‘Last Christmas’.

Nick was also seen smiling and waving to fans in New York on Thursday, hours after the rape allegations emerged.

A day later, it emerged a Backstreet Boys Christmas TV special has been axed amid rape allegations against Nick.

‘A Very Backstreet Holiday’, which was to feature the group’s songs from their latest album of the same name and was scheduled to be shown on December 14, has been dropped by ABC following the sexual assault claims, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Nick’s sexual assault accusers include Shannon ‘Shay’ Ruth, who said on Thursday (08.12.22) she was raped by the singer in 2001 when she was a virgin after he allegedly plied her with alcohol he called “VIP Juice”.

Shay’s lawyer Mark J Boskovich said three other women, identified publicly only as Jane Doe, are also included a joint sexual assault lawsuit filed alongside his client’s.

Shay says Nick gave her a sexually transmitted disease, and the New York Post has reported one of his anonymous alleged victims identified as Doe 1 says in court papers the singer raped her in 2003, giving her HPV.

The publication added a complaint filed in Clark County District Court, Nevada, where Nick lives, shows “another victim identified as Doe 2 said she and Carter had sex multiple times when she was 15-years-old”.

The Post also said court documents claim the singer, then 23, knew the girl’s age and that he gave her alcohol.

It added the suit also claims Nick sexually assaulted a woman identified as Doe 3 at a house party in Key West, Florida.

On Friday, Nick’s lawyer has slammed rape claims against the singer as “entirely untrue”.

Attorney Michael Holtz told New York Post column Page Six in a statement about Shay’s allegations: “This claim about an incident that supposedly took place more than 20 years ago is not only legally meritless but also 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.

“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 realise.”

A Facebook livestreamed press conference held by Shay on Thursday saw her tearfully allege Nick raped her on a Backstreet Boys tour bus when she was a virgin, after she had waited for an autograph.

Shay, who suffers autism and cerebral palsy, is also said to claim she got a sexually transmitted infection after the incident and is seeking monetary damages.

In 2017, former 1990s girl group ‘Dream’ member Melissa Schuman claimed Carter sexually assaulted her when she was an 18-year-old virgin and he was 22 – which Nick, who was not criminally charged, denied.

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