Nick Carter's sexual assault accuser was inspired to tell her story by the women who had come forward to speak about Harvey Weinstein.
Nick Carter
Melissa Schuman, 33, claimed earlier this month that the Backstreet Boys star had forced her into having sex with him at his home in 2002, and has now revealed her decision to finally speak out came as a result of the multiple "brave" women who have alleged they were sexually harassed by disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein.
Speaking during an episode of 'The Dr. Oz Show' which will air on Friday (01.12.17), the former Dream singer said: "Well since the Harvey Weinstein allegations came out, it was a big trigger for me. I started to notice that I had kind of suppressed a lot of the memories for years with all these other brave women coming forward.
"I started to notice I had a lot of anxiety manifesting in my body. That was really making it hard for me to just carry on like every single day it was really impacting me mentally, emotionally, and spiritually."
Melissa previously took to her personal blog to allege that Nick performed oral sex on her without her consent and then made her perform a reciprocal act on him.
Following that, Melissa - who was a virgin at the time - then claimed that Nick took her to his bedroom and had sex with her without her consent, with her repeatedly telling the pop star that she was saving herself for marriage.
She claimed the assault took place back in 2002 after he invited her to his Santa Monica home for a "casual hangout", and admitted that she willingly shared a kiss with Nick after a "few shots" but did not want things to go any further.
Shortly after her blog post was published, Nick, 37, issued a statement in which he vehemently denied the allegations, and insisted anything that happened between them which was sexual was consensual.
He said: "I am shocked and saddened by Ms. Schuman's accusations. Melissa never expressed to me while we were together or at any time since that anything we did was not consensual. We went on to record a song and perform together, and I was always respectful and supportive of Melissa both personally and professionally.
"This is the first that I am hearing about these accusations, nearly two decades later. It is contrary to my nature and everything I hold dear to intentionally cause someone discomfort or harm."
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