Disabled Woman Speaks Out on Alleged Nick Carter Assault

Backstreet Boys superstar Nick Carter has been dogged for years by allegations of sexual assault, and those claims take centerstage in Fallen Idols: Nick and Aaron Carter, a four-part ID docuseries in which three women detail how their encounters with the singer turned into scarring nightmares. It’s a #MeToo-inspired censure of fame and the power and privilege it breeds, and in its final episode (airing Tuesday, May 28), the series focuses on one of those individuals, who is disabled, claims that Nick took ugly advantage of her when she was just a kid—and is now fighting to hold him accountable.

Shannon “Shay” Ruth was a 17-year-old Mormon with cerebral palsy and autism when, in 2001, she attended a Backstreet Boys concert at Washington state’s Tacoma Dome. Waiting with others to get autographs after the show, she was invited by Nick to check out his tour bus. Once inside, she claims she was given drugged alcohol (which she'd never had before) and was then forced to perform oral sex, and to endure it being given to her by Nick, who afterwards threatened her and called her a “retarded bitch.”

In this exclusive clip from the episode, Shay and her lawyer Mark Boskovich stand at a podium during a press conference to announce Shay’s lawsuit against Nick, which she filed in December 2022. As Boskovich notes, “According to Disabilityjustice.org, 83% of women with disabilities will be sexually assaulted during their lifetimes, and just 3% of those assaults will be reported.”

Read more at The Daily Beast.