Melissa Schuman earned a place in Dream, a girl band that made its mark with hits like This Is Me, when she was 12 years old. She stayed with the band— which signed with Bad Boy Records to join a mass of pop groups that were peaking in the 2000s — till she was 18.
Schuman said that the young pop stars made up a tight-knit group because they all toured together. Dream toured more with *NSYNC and Britney Spears than they did with Nick Carter’s group, the Backstreet Boys, so her experiences with the BSB were pretty limited.
But in 2012, she was shooting the teen horror flick The Hollow alongside Carter. In a lengthy blog post written this November, Schuman alleges Carter sexually assaulted her while they were hanging out with friends at his apartment on a day off from work.
I’m finally doing what I thought I could no longer do. Im filing a police report #timesup ✊? #bebrave #bethechange #metoo thank you @RAINN for empowering me to take this step.
— MelissaSchuman (@MelissaSchuman) February 7, 2018
“Not only was I assaulted, I was now at risk of that experience completely destroying my dreams. What do you do in that situation?” Schuman told The Daily Beast.
We wonder why the music industry remains exempt from the repercussions & accountability that the #metoo movement has given to so many. It’s because of enablers like @GMA. They don’t care because they think you don’t care. Money is all that matters #muteRKelly #metoo #timesup https://t.co/gdxEeFhRRj
— MelissaSchuman (@MelissaSchuman) May 7, 2018
Since telling her story, Schuman has been accused of being a fame seeker. There have been attacks on her personality and her personal home address and phone number were posted online. She faces harassment from fans and Carter’s bandmates have stood behind Carter, making the harassment worse.
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