Nick Carter's Sexual Assault Accuser's Anti-SLAPP Motion Against Star Denied Again Following Appeal

Mar. 15, 2025

Melissa Schuman, Nick Carter.Photo:Matthew Simmons/Getty; Michael Kovac/Getty

Matthew Simmons/Getty; Michael Kovac/Getty

Nick Carterearned a courtroom victory on Tuesday, Jan. 28 in his legal battle against his rape accuserMelissa Schuman.

An attorney for Schuman, 40, said in a statement to PEOPLE that “while we respectfully disagree with the court’s decision, the court made no finding about which side is likely to win at trial. A jury will decide the merits of the case and we fully expect to prevail.”

Schuman, previously of the girl group Dream, firstaccused Carter of rapein a 2017 blog post on her website, alleging that she was an 18-year-old virgin when he raped her in his Santa Monica apartment in 2003. He denied the allegations at the time, saying that while he had had sex with Schuman, it was consensual.

Nick Carter performs on stage at the Vi som älskar 90 & 00-talet festival at Gärdet on July 06, 2024 in Stockholm, Sweden.Iwi Onodera/Redferns

Iwi Onodera/Redferns

Schuman was later named in a February 2023countersuit that Carter filedagainst Shannon Ruth, who’d sued the star two months earlier foralleged sexual battery. In his countersuit, the singer accused both women of taking advantage of the #MeToo movement and using it to launch a conspiracy to “defame and vilify” him for attention and money.

Ruth, Schuman and her father filed anti-SLAPP motions to dismiss Carter’s counterclaim, but a Nevada judgedenied Schuman’s motionin August 2023. Ruth’s motion was also denied, and both women appealed; the ruling on Ruth’s motion wasupheld in November, and Schuman’s on Tuesday.

The ruling said that Schuman’s anti-SLAPP motion was denied because “though the Schumans had met their burden on the first prong of the anti-SLAPP framework, Carter had met his burden on the second prong.” The first prong relates to free speech, while the second means Carter has to show “evidence of a probability of prevailing on the claim.”

Meanwhile, Schumansued Carter in April 2023for sexual assault and battery over the alleged 2003 incident. His attorney said at the time that Schuman’s allegations were “false” and a “PR stunt,” and Carter countersued Schuman in August 2024 for $2.5 million.

The singer is set to begin a new leg of his Who I Am Tour in India on Feb. 7, and has dates scheduled through May.

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 torainn.org.

source: people.com