Fame and testosterone are an explosive cocktail. Proof of this are the Backstreet Boys, a band of five handsome and rich boys who succumbed to a thousand temptations, starring in sex, drug and rock'n'roll scandals. Or, to be precise, teen romance pop. Created in 1993 and promoted by Lou Pearlman, producer of New Kids On The Block, it sold more than 140.000.000 records, won MTV awards and the most popular awards in the world, achieving diamond records year after year. The fortune amassed by the five members is estimated at 200.000.000 euros.
The leader of the group, Nick Carter, is the protagonist of the most serious complaints. In 2017, the singer Melissa Schuman was the first to report a rape, which she forgave crying hanging an interview in which she recounted what happened in 2002, when she just turned 18. Her fear of facing the powerful lawyers of the Backstreet Boys, the group of the moment at the time, silenced her. Now, Shannon Ruth, a 39-year-old lawyer, has denounced that in 2001, when she was only 17 years old, she was incited to drink alcohol and she was raped by the singer. Her alleged victim, autistic and with cerebral palsy, has reported that Nick called her a "retarded bitch" while he was abusing her. This sexual relationship of hers also infects her with the human papillomavirus. Just over two decades it has taken Shannon to dare to denounce the facts.
Scam and addictions
But not only sex has marked the star of the band, drugs have hit him hard. Last November, the images of Nick Carter interrupting a concert after breaking down in tears over the death of his brother Aaron went around the world. In 2011, Nick had already lost his sister Leslie, at just 25 years old, due to an overdose of antidepressants and anxiolytics. Aaron, with whom he has a difficult relationship marked by suspicion of child abuse, drowned in the pool of his house, allegedly after losing consciousness from a heroin overdose. He suffered from depression and showed an aggressive personality that earned him a restraining order from his wife. The day after his death was known, Nick was performing in London and the other Backstreet Boys hugged him after performing the song 'Incomplete'. Nick showed a sensitive side away from the dark side that he led, having been arrested in Florida in 2016 for assault.
For Nick to come to reign, he first had to dethrone Howie Dorough, the badass of the group, raised in an Orlando neighborhood dominated by drugs, which he consumed daily before tasting the honey of brutal success. He is married with two children, one of whom left Nuclear Physics at Harvard to follow in his father's footsteps in music.
Poster of the tour that the band carried out in 1996, when they had thousands of fans around the world
AJ McLean was admitted to a detoxification clinic up to three times, recognizing that the fight against alcohol and drugs was his daily battle. He was the bad boy of the gang. He was made in Las Vegas and is the father of two girls.
For his part, Kevin Richardson wanted to try his luck not only in music, but also in acting, being the first to jump ship to start his solo career. Born with heart disease, Brian Littrell has suffered health problems, to the point of losing his voice due to hoarseness caused by the complaint.
The band was also the protagonist of one of the biggest scams in the history of music. His manager, Lou Pearlman, confiscated almost 300.000.000 euros and was sentenced to 25 years in prison for conspiracy and white capital. He was the financial mastermind of the group in its first ten years, launching them to fame while carrying out criminal acts that lost them a fortune.
