NEW YORK, NEW YORK – DECEMBER 09: The Backstreet Boys preform during the Z100’s iHeartRadio Jingle Ball 2022 show at Madison Square Garden on December 09, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Kane/WireImage)
Nick Carter took the stage at the iHeartRadio Jingle Ball concert in New York City on Friday, amid rape allegations and a lawsuit against him.
Matching in all-white ensembles, the singer, 42, performed alongside his Backstreet Boys bandmates Kevin Richardson, AJ McLean, Brian Littrell, and Howie Dorough at Madison Square Garden.
Together, the group sang some of their classic hits, including “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)” and “I Want It That Way,” as well as a cover of Wham!‘s “Last Christmas.”
Dua Lipa, Dove Cameron, Demi Lovato, Lizzo, Charlie Puth and Ava Max were among some of the other performers who joined the boy band at the annual holiday event.
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Singer Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys attends the unveiling of Marvel’s Hulkbuster armor wax figure at Madame Tussauds Las Vegas at The Venetian Las Vegas on February 28, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Gabe Ginsberg/Getty Nick Carter
RELATED: Nick Carter Sued for Sexual Battery in 2001 Fan Incident as Source Denies Allegations
Earlier this week, Carter was sued by a woman named Shannon Ruth, who alleged that she was 17 years old when Carter sexually assaulted her on his tour bus after a concert in 2001, when he was 21, according to documents obtained by PEOPLE.
The accusation had prompted ABC to cancel the Backstreet Boys’ Christmas special, titled A Very Backstreet Holiday, which was scheduled to air on Dec. 14, Variety reported.
The special was set to feature Carter and his bandmates, as well as Seth Rogen, Meghan Trainor, Rob Riggle and Nikki Glaser, among others. The band was slated to perform songs from its recently released 10th album, A Very Backstreet Christmas.
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A source close to Carter has since denied the allegations, and Michael Holtz, an attorney for the singer, added in a statement sent to PEOPLE, “This claim about an incident that supposedly took place more than 20 years ago is not only legally meritless but also entirely untrue.”
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Holtz continued, “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 realize.”
Ruth, who is autistic and has cerebral palsy, claims in her lawsuit that she was waiting in an autograph line after a Backstreet Boys show in Tacoma, Washington, when Carter invited her to his bus.
The singer asked Ruth if she wanted a drink, and when she requested apple juice, he gave her a red-colored drink he called “VIP juice,” the complaint claims. Though Carter allegedly said the beverage was cranberry juice, Ruth believes it also contained alcohol.
RELATED VIDEO: Nick Carter Sued for Sexual Battery in 2001 Fan Incident as Source Denies Allegations
Ruth claims that Carter then brought her to the bathroom and demanded she perform oral sex on him. Afterward, the singer allegedly continued to sexually assault her on a bed. Ruth claimed that she was a virgin before the encounter, and that she contracted HPV afterward.
In 2017, Carter was accused of rape by former teen pop singer Melissa Schuman, who was 18 at the time.
Carter denied Schuman’s claims, saying that anything that happened between them was “consensual.” He was never charged with a crime, and the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office declined the case in 2018, citing an expired statute of limitations.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.
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