ABC has canceled a Backstreet Boys holiday special that was slated to air next week. Per The Hollywood Reporter, A Very Backstreet Holiday was cut due to a lawsuit filed yesterday (Dec. 8) that accused Nick Carter of rape in 2001.
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The special was scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 14, but comedy reruns will now run in its place. The program was set to feature the boy band playing songs from their holiday album of the same name released in October.
The lawsuit was filed by Shannon “Shay” Ruth, who claims the boy bander raped her on a bus amid the group’s Black & Blue Tour. Ruth was 17 years old at the time to Carter’s 21. The suit says Carter picked her out of a line for autographs in Tacoma, Washington, and brought her back to their tour bus.
From there Ruth, who has autism and cerebral palsy, claims she was given a drink Carter called “VIP juice” that she believes had alcohol in it. He then allegedly took her into the bus bathroom and forced her to perform oral sex on him. He later raped her repeatedly on the bed.
“In the last 21 years I have been filled with pain, confusion, frustration, shame, and self-harm that are a direct result of Nick Carter raping me,” Ruth said in a press conference. “Even though I’m autistic and live with cerebral palsy, I believe nothing has affected me more or had a more lasting impact on my life than what Nick Carter did to me.”
Through his attorney, Carter has denied the allegations, saying, “This claim about an incident that supposedly took place more than 20 years ago is not only legally meritless but also entirely untrue.”
Carter was also accused of rape in 2017. Melissa Schuman of the girl group Dream wrote a blog post about Carter raping her in 2002 on the set of a movie they worked on together. Carter denied those allegations as well.
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