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Aaron Carter said that he wanted to repair his relationship with his elder brother, Nick Carter, in an interview released days before his death.
Musician Aaron, 34, was found dead in a bathtub on November 5 at his home in Lancaster, California. He was pronounced dead at the scene, according to local authorities. A cause of death has not yet been revealed.
Days before he passed away, Aaron spoke about his desire to be back on good terms with Backstreet Boys star Nick, 42, with whom he had a complicated relationship over the years.
Making an appearance on the No Jumper podcast—which went live online on November 2, eight days after it was recorded—Aaron sent a public apology to his brother for initially siding with Melissa Schuman after she accused Nick of rape.
"Unfortunately, I tried to play God and stand up for alleged rape victim of Nick," Aaron said. "And to my brother, I would like to apologize and say I love you. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that."
Schuman, of the girl group Dream, told the Daily Beast in August 2018 that the alleged incident happened two decades ago, when she and Nick were hanging out with a group of friends in his apartment.
Nick denied Schuman's rape allegations, saying in a statement: "Melissa never expressed to me while we were together or at any time since that anything we did was not consensual. We went on to record a song and perform together, and I was always respectful and supportive of Melissa both personally and professionally."
The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office declined to press charges against Nick as the statute of limitations had expired in 2013.
Elsewhere in his No Jumper interview, Aaron said of his estranged sibling: "I just hope that relationship gets fixed… With my brother."
In 2019, Nick and his sister Angel Carter took out a restraining order against their brother after he allegedly threatened to kill Nick's pregnant wife, Lauren Kitt.
As part of the order, Aaron was instructed to stay at least 100 feet away from Nick, his family, and his home in Las Vegas.
The complainants said in a statement at the time: "In light of Aaron's increasingly alarming behavior and his recent confessions that he harbors thoughts and intentions of killing my pregnant wife and unborn child, we were left with no choice but to take every measure possible to protect ourselves and our family.
"We love our brother and truly hope he gets the proper treatment he needs before any harm comes to himself or anyone else."
In a statement at the time, Aaron said he was "astounded" by the move, adding: "I do not wish harm to anyone, especially my family."
Following his death over the weekend, Nick called Aaron his "baby brother" but also reflected on their at-times "complicated" relationship.
Alongside images of the two brothers in their younger years, Nick posted: "My heart is broken. Even though my brother and I have had a complicated relationship, my love for him has never ever faded.
"I have always held on to the hope that he would somehow, someday want to walk a healthy path and eventually find the help that he so desperately needed."
He continued: "Sometimes we want to blame someone or something for a loss, but the truth is that addiction and mental illness is the real villain here.
"I will miss my brother more than anyone will ever know. I love you Chizz. Now you can finally have the peace you could never find here on earth… I love you baby brother."
About the writer
Ryan Smith is a Newsweek Senior Pop Culture and Entertainment Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on ... Read more