Aaron Carter's manager reveals "relentless" abuse that could have driven tragedy
Lancaster, California - Aaron Carter's manager opened up on the deeply damaging effect cyberbullying and hate had on the star, who tragically died at the start of the month.
In an interview with PageSix, Carter's former manager, Taylor Helgeson, said the 34-year-old suffered a lot due to the continuous stream of abuse coming his way online and sometimes in real life.
Asked if he thought cyberbullying played any role in his the singer's death, Helgeson replied: "It didn't help. It was like a nightmare. It was non-stop, it was so relentless. And yeah, it did a number on him."
He also revealed that Carter was very much aware of all the toxicity on social media and often read the hateful messages, despite efforts to keep the pop star away from it all.
There were also shows when Carter was confronted and mocked by hecklers, which Helgeson says affected him a lot. "He didn't let it show in the performance, but when he got off stage, he was like really sad," he recalled.
The poisonous online-offline combo left a huge mark on the artist: "He gets on Twitter and he sees these same people [hecklers] posting videos about it. And he would look at this stuff."
Carter's body was found November 5 in his bathtub by a housekeeper. An official cause of death has still not been determined, though further details have emerged and his brother Nick – with whom he had a troubled relationship – blamed "addiction and mental illness."
It was also reported that the artist died without a will, leaving his estate in the hands of the state of California for now.
Cover photo: Collage: Frazer Harrison / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP