Nick Carter has initiated a countersuit against Melissa Schuman, a fellow singer, rejecting her claims of sexual assault.

The Backstreet Boys star filed his counter complaint in California’s Superior Court on July 26, asking for $2.5 million in damages, as per court records acquired by YSL News.

In this counterclaim, Carter asserts that Schuman made false allegations against him when she first accused him of sexual assault through a blog post in 2017. The counterclaim also suggests that Schuman has repeatedly made defamatory comments about Carter, labeling him a rapist on social media, in a documentary titled “Fallen Idols,” and at a press conference earlier this year.

“Schuman’s actions were deliberate, harmful, and aimed at jeopardizing Carter’s business relationships and potential economic benefits,” the countersuit states, emphasizing that “her attempts to tarnish Carter’s reputation” have caused “emotional distress” to his wife, Lauren Kitt Carter, and their three children.

YSL News has sought comments from representatives of both Carter and Schuman.

Schuman’s lawyer, Karen Barth Menzies, responded to Carter’s countersuit with a statement to People magazine, stating that the singer’s method of defending against sexual assault allegations involves attacking the victims.

In a lawsuit filed last year in Los Angeles, Schuman accused Carter of sexually assaulting her in 2003.

Schuman, 39 years old, alleged that Carter, who is 44, exploited “his fame and influence as a well-known singer to gain access, groom, manipulate, exploit, and sexually assault” her as detailed in the lawsuit.

In her court statements, Schuman recounted that the alleged assault took place in Carter’s apartment in Santa Monica. She claimed that he ignored her frequent objections, insisting that she was a virgin who wished to wait until marriage.

Schuman, previously part of the girl group Dream, also accused Carter of transmitting HPV, a sexually transmitted virus that may lead to genital warts and other health complications.

Carter, who achieved several top 10 hits in the late 1990s as a member of the Backstreet Boys, is also facing accusations of rape from Shannon “Shay” Ruth. In a civil lawsuit from 2002, Ruth claimed that Carter raped and physically assaulted her on a Backstreet Boys tour bus when she was just 17.