Nick Carter scored a legal win on Tuesday, January 28, in his ongoing battle with Melissa Schuman, who accused him of rape. The Nevada Supreme Court ruled in Carter’s favor, denying Schuman and her father Jerry’s attempt to get his defamation counterclaim dismissed.
The court concluded that Carter had enough evidence to show that Schuman and her father made false and defamatory statements about him. This ruling allows Carter to continue his defamation case against the Schumans.
Schuman, a former member of the girl group Dream, first made her accusations against Carter in a 2017 blog post, claiming that he raped her in 2003 when she was 18. Carter denied the claims, saying their sexual encounter was consensual. In 2023, Carter filed a countersuit against Schuman and another woman, Shannon Ruth, who had accused him of sexual assault. In his countersuit, Carter alleged that both women were using the #MeToo movement to gain attention and money by defaming him.
Schuman and her father tried to get Carter’s counterclaim thrown out with an anti-SLAPP motion, which was denied by a Nevada judge last year. They then appealed the decision, but the Nevada Supreme Court upheld the ruling. This means Carter is now free to pursue his defamation and conspiracy claims against them.
Carter’s attorneys called the ruling a major victory, saying that the Schumans and their supporters will now have to face the consequences for their actions.
Meanwhile, Schuman filed her own lawsuit against Carter in April 2023 for sexual assault and battery over the alleged 2003 incident. Carter strongly denied the claims and countersued for $2.5 million in August 2024.
Despite the ongoing legal battles, Carter is preparing to hit the road for his Who I Am Tour, with dates starting in India on February 7 and continuing through May.
