Nick and Aaron Carter’ Team Talk Allegations & Struggles

Investigation Discovery’s latest docuseries Fallen Idols: Nick and Aaron Carter dives into the allegations of sexual assault towards Backstreet Boys frontman Nick Carter and brother Aaron Carter’s struggles with psychological well being and substance abuse.

The four-part collection, which airs Monday and Tuesday, spends its first two episodes introducing Melissa Schuman, a former member of pop woman band Dream, who was the primary girl to publicly come ahead, in 2017, to allege that Nick Carter sexually assaulted her.

Schuman spoke out when the #MeToo motion was rocking the leisure world. Two different accusers — Ashley Rapp and Shay Ruth — subsequently revealed their very own accusations of assault. Over the course of 4 episodes, Schuman, Rapp and Ruth open up about their tales and the backlash they’ve acquired since coming ahead to accuse somebody as beloved by the band’s superfans as Nick Carter.

The second half of the docuseries explores Aaron Carter’s struggles, a few of which started when he spoke out in help of the survivors who alleged his brother had raped them, inflicting their relationship to fracture earlier than Aaron Carter died in 2022 at age 34.

For ID president Jason Sarlanis, incurring the wrath of the BSB Military for Fallen Idols wasn’t a lot of a priority. “No matter the subject material, when anyone’s courageous sufficient to share their story — because the three ladies who’re featured on this docuseries did — we need to use our platform to empower them and provides them a voice,” the community head tells The Hollywood Reporter. “No matter who they is perhaps talking about, we need to empower the survivors and never be so targeted essentially on the potential perpetrator.”

Under, Sarlanis, together with Fallen Idols showrunner Elissa Halperin and government producer Michael Hirschorn, clarify why that is the suitable time for the docuseries, focus on the way it’s taken so lengthy for the #MeToo motion to hit the music business and share their hopes for the four-parter.

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What issues did you may have about going after somebody as beloved by followers as Nick Carter?

ELISSA HALPERIN The truth that there’s such a fan base makes it a related story to have a look at. These are lawsuits which can be taking place, and it seems like a really topical story due to that.

How lengthy have you ever all been engaged on this docuseries?

MICHAEL HIRSCHORN The venture was initiated by a wonderful producer, a British producer named Natasha Bowler. She had been engaged on a distinct venture about #MeToo within the music enterprise and constructed up plenty of connections and relationships. She initially constructed the relationships with the three ladies featured within the documentary, interviewed them after which introduced the venture to [my company] Ish Leisure. After which, actually, there was a course of by which the belief needed to be transferred to us, after which finally to Elissa because the showrunner to be sure that the ladies knew that we have been going to deal with them in addition to Natasha had.

I initially talked to Jason within the fall of ’22. I believe we’d introduced the venture out shortly earlier than Aaron Carter died, and it was really a way more simple venture on the time. After which as we have been taking it out, we obtained the horrible information about his dying. After which Jason actually challenged us to increase the scope of the venture and to sort of knit collectively the story of Aaron and Nick with the story of the three ladies, which I believe made the entire story rather more highly effective and made it much more dimensionalized and richer, and I believe simply elevated it from a sort of easy story to 1 that had so many alternative parts. Finally, we needed to increase it from three to 4 episodes.

Why did you select to air it now?

JASON SARLANIS By way of the why now from an airing perspective, it’s sort of a confluence of two issues. One, we’re right here to help these survivors, and that is the place they’re on their journey. And this can be a snapshot in that individual second of time. So, when it comes to doing proper by them, we need to air it fairly well timed to the second that they sat down in entrance of cameras. So, that’s a part of the impetus. And the opposite a part of it’s that the ID model as a platform is maturing and evolving. We’re now at a spot post-some of the opposite documentaries we’ve accomplished in tangential areas, like Quiet on Set, to actually give this documentary the platform it deserves and the attain it deserves.

Why was ID the suitable place for Fallen Idols?

SARLANIS I can let Ish converse to why Michael was, I’d say, sensible sufficient to consider that we have been the proper residence. (Laughs.) However, from an ID perspective, we actually contemplate ourselves the unique residence of investigative documentary collection and satisfaction ourselves on our mission to make use of that platform to offer victims and survivors a voice. On the coronary heart of what this documentary is, it truly is these three ladies, so we expect we’re the proper place for them to share their story.

HIRSCHORN We had numerous curiosity within the venture. Jason instantly stepped up, and, as a former community exec, I actually respect a community exec who was prepared to say, “Sure, I need to do that. I need to decide to it now.” And who trusted us and supported us all through the method. One of many issues that’s been actually exceptional about working with Jason and the entire workforce is that they’ve been actually sturdy companions and have challenged us to make it higher. They’re not going to shrink back from troublesome materials. They’re actually decided to ensure we make the absolute best venture. So, that actually struck me each watching what ID had been doing two years in the past and has continued to do. So, I’m very completely satisfied we made that call.

Jason, what did you suppose after they introduced it to you?

SARLANIS I believe it’s an excellent instance of the place the subject material and the filmmakers intersect completely. Michael has such a historical past of understanding the popular culture music house, given his personal profession, particularly in relation to his time as a community government. He’s intimately conscious of the various layers that go into being a part of the popular culture megadome that Nick and Aaron have been each part of, and I believe that gave him a very distinctive perspective on the best way to inform this story. To not point out, his expertise and journalistic integrity to ensure we’re doing this story proper. So, when he sat down with me over drinks, really, and stated that this was a ardour venture of his and one which he was able to sort of start into actuality, I immediately jumped on the alternative to work along with him.

HIRSCHORN Elissa is any individual who we discovered by means of ID, however she’s a really journalistically rigorous showrunner. I had numerous consolation in the truth that she was a very sturdy backstop, who might take a look at materials. We have been wading by means of, in a single case, 350 pages of authorized paperwork that have been dropped on our entrance door. It takes any individual with a really excessive stage of intelligence and persistence and stick-to-itiveness, and lack of ADD, to have the persistence to undergo a whole lot of paperwork and examine them and form of determine a story throughline that displays precisely what these paperwork say.

SARLANIS If I can pour on to the love affair of all issues Elissa, this can be a actually nuanced story and a narrative that not simply explores the difficulties of sexual assault, but in addition histories of substance abuse, actually tragic, darkish, household dynamics, and the way intergenerationally that has affected these two younger males. Elissa, in her historical past with us alone, I imply, has accomplished documentaries in related areas and brings an actual sense of experience to the subject material in all its completely different functions.

Elissa, are you able to discuss to me about how showrunning works on a docuseries. Many individuals consider showrunners as writers, however these have been ladies telling their very own tales.

HALPERIN Being introduced on to this present was actually an honor and a privilege to work with Jason once more, and to work with Michael and the workforce at Ish for the primary time. It was a privilege to be requested to take part on this.

For me, there was a private component to it. I got here of age when these two younger males have been developing. So, I had that non-public nostalgic connection to it. I actually wished to have a look at the massive image of, how do two males who have been on prime of the world 25 years in the past wind up the place we are actually — which is, one has been accused of very tragic issues and one is not with us, which is tragic as effectively.

My method is to have a look at everybody’s story and attempt to give everybody house for his or her viewpoint, and to determine how all of these items join in a method that’s honest and that honors the ladies and their intentions in addition to understanding the challenges of presenting one thing that’s evolving and desirous to get the voice and perspective of somebody who opted to not personally take part.

Why do you suppose it’s taken so lengthy for the #MeToo motion to hit the music business regardless of taking the movie business by storm in 2017?

HIRSCHORN Nicely, one factor I can level to, as has Jason, I’ve spent a lot of my profession sort of adjoining to the music enterprise, and numerous the ability constructions within the music enterprise actually haven’t modified within the final a number of many years. The factor that actually broke it open — and we have been speaking about after I was speaking to Jason in late 2022 — have been numerous look-back legal guidelines that had that have been going to come back into impact in 2023, which allowed alleged victims to take motion that they couldn’t take beforehand as a result of the alleged incidents had occurred too way back. So, I believe this new wave is being pushed, at the very least partly, by a brand new authorized openness of the court docket system in California and likewise in New York to open the window, notably for civil fits.

And so, as 2023 began, there was all of a sudden this wave of tales, and it truly is sort of #MeToo 2.0, however I believe with a key distinction. The opposite attention-grabbing component of this story is, in contrast to #MeToo 1.0, the accused are being much more aggressive of their defenses than they have been the final time round. I believe a part of this story is the diploma to which Nick Carter will not be backing down from his protestations of innocence, and is utilizing his authorized may and sources to battle again towards the ladies and make fairly critical accusations towards them in flip.

HALPERIN It looks as if additionally, I believe, responsible or harmless, a number of years in the past, folks would simply sort of shrink again and shrink back it doesn’t matter what form of the allegations have been simply due to the PR side. However, I believe now, somebody like Nick, who actually is sustaining his innocence, he’s decided to show that in court docket and to claim that.

What do you hope the viewers response shall be, and what change do you hope Fallen Idols brings?

HALPERIN To have the ability to have these conversations can be a very nice consequence. For folks to hear to one another, to listen to one another, and to seek out house for nuance and beauty.

SARLANIS I believe for survivors of sexual abuse, for survivors of substance abuse, for this documentary, to permit folks to convey into the sunshine their very own experiences and have wanted conversations. If this documentary does that, if it helps even just some folks really feel OK, then it’s accomplished its job.

HIRSCHORN There’s a necessity that folks of a sure age and other people of all ages have in reckoning with a second of their childhood, or the second of their teenagers, or the second of their early grownup lives and coming to phrases with how a lot issues have modified within the final 20 years — and the way a lot issues stay the identical.

So if we did our jobs accurately, you each have a way of nostalgia and a way that, “Wow, was it a distinct time.” It’s solely 20 years in the past, nevertheless it could possibly be historical historical past, and I believe it offers folks a chance to replicate on how they’ve modified, how the tradition has modified and likewise the work that also must be accomplished. Then, we’ll have accomplished our job.

Fallen Idols releases throughout two nights, with its first two episodes dropping on ID and Max on Might 27 and its ultimate two on Might 28 from 9 – 11 p.m.