Nick Carter joins Backstreet Boys at Jingle Ball amid rape allegations
New York, New York - Nick Carter joined his Backstreet Boys bandmates onstage at Madison Square Garden over the weekend despite new bombshell rape allegations against him.
On Friday, the 42-year-old star hit the stage with bandmates AJ McLean, Howie Dorough, Brian Littrell and Kevin Richardson for the iHeartRadio Jingle Ball concert.
The boybanders donned matching-white attire while performing their classic hits Everybody (Backstreet's Back) and I Want It That Way, as well as a cover of Wham!'s Last Christmas, according to reports.
Yet, Carter's appearance was a bit of a surprise, since just a day earlier he and the group received a huge hit.
Before his Jingle Ball performance, a woman named Shannon Ruth filed a lawsuit against the pop star, alleging that Carter sexually assaulted her on his tour bus after a concert in 2001 when he was 21 and she was 17-years-old.
During a press conference held via Facebook Live on Thursday, the now 39-year-old, who is autistic and has cerebral palsy, emotionally recounted the alleged incident where she further maintained that the House of Carters star made derogatory remarks towards her.
"After he raped me, I remember him calling me a 'retarded b**ch' and grabbing me and leaving bruises on my arm," she said during the livestream.
The accusation against Carter led to ABC promptly canceling the boyband's planned Christmas special, A Very Backstreet Holiday, which was scheduled for December 14. Luckily for fans, the group's Jingle Ball spot remained unaffected.
Cover photo: Collage: MICHAEL LOCCISANO & MIKE COPPOLA / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / GETTY IMAGES VIA AFP