The second evening of Investigation Discovery’s Fallen Idols: Nick and Aaron Carter docuseries wasted no time earlier than diving into Aaron Carter’s psychological well being struggles and deeper into the allegations of sexual assault towards Backstreet Boys frontman Nick Carter.
The ultimate two episodes of the four-part docuseries featured interviews with Aaron Carter’s ex-girlfriend, Lina Valentina, and his ex-fiancée, Melanie Martin, whom he had a toddler with earlier than he died in November 2022. Nick Carter’s ex-girlfriend, Kaya Jones, was additionally interviewed about her public help for Melissa Schuman, a former member of the pop woman group Dream, who was the primary particular person to accuse Nick Carter of sexual assault publicly.
The third episode opened with a recording of a cellphone dialog between Aaron Carter and Schuman. In it, the “I Need Sweet” singer tells Schuman he had been seeing all the pieces that had been occurring to her since she got here ahead, and he felt compelled to achieve out but additionally a duty to guard his brother.
It wasn’t lengthy earlier than he started to publicly converse out towards his older brother in help of the ladies who accused the Backstreet Boys member of sexual assault. What has adopted is years of cyberbullying for alleged victims Schuman, Ashley Repp and Shay Ruth, in addition to the late Aaron Carter, whose relationship together with his brother was ceaselessly modified after he sided with the ladies earlier than attempting to take it again years later.
Fandom loyalty and toxicity have been a few of the issues Fallen Idols‘ govt producer Michael Hirschorn and showrunner Elissa Halperin wished to discover within the docuseries, particularly about how social media elevates issues to a brand new degree.
“We have been very a lot struck by the diploma to which, even eight years into #MeToo, so many ladies are fiercely refusing to imagine that something about their idols may very well be lower than excellent. Add into that what I’d name the ‘staff sports activities’ facet of social media, and it turns into very troublesome to get viewers to see the shades of gray in any controversy,” Hirschorn tells The Hollywood Reporter. “Particularly with Aaron, we wish viewers to take web trolling significantly. It’s not so simple as simply getting off social media. Trolling extends into actual life in profound and unsettling methods.”
Beneath, Hirschorn, Halperin and ID president Jason Sarlanis open up further about their moral conversations surrounding together with Aaron Carter in Fallen Idols when he’s now not alive, the choice to characteristic interviews with Backstreet Boys superfans and extra.
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Having made this docuseries, how do you now really feel about Nick Carter?
MICHAEL HIRSCHORN One of many issues that we delivered to this and nonetheless really feel now’s lots of empathy for him. And I believe one of many issues that was actually vital in making this documentary was that we strategy everyone in it with a degree of respect and empathy, and to present every of them a chance to ensure that their voice is heard.
Melissa Schuman, one in all Nick Carter’s accusers, in Fallen Idols.
Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.
How did you go about reaching out to Melissa, Shay and Ashley to return ahead about what they went via?
HIRSCHORN Effectively, that was finished initially by Natasha [Bowler, a British producer who had been working on a project about the #MeToo movement in music and introduced the Fallen Idols team to the three survivors in the docuseries]. She initially filmed with them earlier than we did a take care of her in Las Vegas in ’22. She had a excessive degree of belief with them. So, when she introduced the venture to us, it was actually on us to rebuild and re-earn the belief they’d handed off to her. There have been lots of conversations with Melissa and her father, [Jerome Schuman] — who’s any individual that she depends on and trusts — with Ashley and with Shay, and people are difficult, delicate conversations. Then, when Elissa got here on, we did it another time.
From my standpoint, it was essential to be empathetic and honest, but additionally scrupulously sincere with them and ensure they understood that we’re an goal third get together in that we need to give them a platform and a discussion board to say what they need to say, and we’re very snug that we conveyed the essence of what they wished to say precisely. However then it was incumbent on us to ensure that if the Nick Carter camp — and we have been in shut contact with Nick Carter camp, though Nick himself declined to be interviewed — had a chance to reply, that we have been representing and weighing these responses in a considerate manner. And that was actually difficult. And the particularly difficult half, which I’m certain that’ll come up in a bit, is the Aaron piece, and find out how to actually pretty inform that story.
Exterior of the accusers, how doid you resolve who to interview and have within the docuseries?
ELISSA HALPERIN Once I’m approaching materials like this, I need to take a 360-degree look. I would like anybody who has a stake on all sides of the story and an vital perspective to have the chance to talk, and I believe we made actual efforts to try this and to essentially have a cross-section of views.
Melanie Martin, Aaron Carter’s ex-fiancée, in Fallen Idols.
Warner Bros. Discovery
What was the thought course of — and also you touched on this already a bit bit — behind together with Backstreet Boys superfans who stated they didn’t imagine Melissa or any of Nick’s different accusers?
HALPERIN One of many explanation why we determined to achieve out to Backstreet Boys superfans is as a result of I believe they’re a part of the story. Nick and the Backstreet Boys have had a particularly devoted fan base for 30 years and their unwavering dedication is part of this story. And we felt that it was vital to characterize.
HIRSCHORN The Backstreet Boys Military actually is a military. In the event you consider a few of the KPOP supergroup fandoms, Backstreet Boys’ fandom is fairly massive, fairly fierce and fairly passionate. And what kind of enjoyable about it’s that these are folks that started being superfans of their teenagers and now are nonetheless superfans of their 30s and even 40s.
JASON SARLANIS Once you watch the documentary, you see that components of this BSB Military turn out to be a really vital a part of the story itself and the way the connection between the 2 brothers advanced.
You talked about that Nick declined to be interviewed, and it was famous within the docuseries. Have you ever had some other communications with the Carter household, in addition to their cousin, John Spaulding, who was featured in Fallen Idols?
HIRSCHORN We had ongoing and proceed to have communications with the Nick Carter camp. Journalistically, if there have been allegations that have been made, the issues that have been contended by a few of the girls or different folks we spoke to, we requested for responses from the Carter camp. At each level, we’ve got additionally included authorized paperwork as a part of a useful resource for individuals who need to dig extra deeply into the venture and need to study extra, as a result of there’s a big paper path of costs and counter-charges.
What makes this venture actually distinctive — I can’t consider one other one which’s precisely prefer it — is that it’s being made in the course of a sequence of extremely contentious court docket circumstances that contain preliminary costs, counter-charges, costs to the counter-charges and counter-charges to the counter-counter-charges. And that’s fairly exceptional. And it each creates a sturdy paper path that’s actually fascinating to undergo, however makes it very difficult terrain to navigate. So, as any individual who in a earlier life was {a magazine} and newspaper editor and investigative reporter — Elissa has a few of that background as properly — we actually introduced lots of that have in historical past to this.
John Spaulding, a cousin of the Carter household, speaks about his relationships with Aaron Carter and Nick Carter.
Warner Bros. Discovery
Right here’s my query about Aaron. What have been the moral conversations round exploring accusations round Aaron and diving into his psychological well being and habit points when he isn’t round anymore to reply to them?
HALPERIN Aaron is somebody who has gone via rather a lot, and I believe folks actually care about him and what occurred to him, and there’s a need all the time when a star, particularly a former youngster star, type of winds up on this tragic circumstance, to type of perceive what occurred and replicate on that. That was one thing we wished to take a look at — the complexities of all of the issues he was going via. The concept 25 years in the past, these two younger males have been these idols on high of the world, and right here we’re, 25 years later. I believe to grasp how that occurred, and the cycles of abuse inside that household the place three siblings are literally now not with us, felt vital to look at.
SARLANIS Aaron was very open about his struggles with substance abuse and psychological well being in his personal public manner. When you concentrate on the affect this younger man had on thousands and thousands of followers who adored him, if his story can act as a little bit of a cautionary story to any of them who’re struggling in their very own methods with substance abuse, psychological well being points with unhealthy household dynamics, then, I believe, telling his story is value it.
How massive of a component do you suppose the Carter household dynamics performed in all the pieces that’s panned out for these boys and their siblings and cousins?
HALPERIN I believe we are able to say from Nick and Aaron’s cousin straight, John Spaulding — who we interviewed — the household dynamics performed an enormous position in what wound up occurring.
HIRSCHORN There’s this very highly effective scene, the place Aaron places the knife to his head.
HALPERIN When he was starring in Seussical, there was an anecdote that was informed to us by his former supervisor that was simply actually hanging to all of us in the way in which that his household responded to such a critical, what we perceived to be, a cry for assist.
SARLANIS I believe for 2 younger males that lived their lives a lot within the public highlight, there are nonetheless components about their household background which have by no means come to gentle till this documentary that, I believe, can be eye-opening for the viewers and for the fan base.
Nick Carter and Aaron Carter.
Chad Buchanan/Getty Pictures
We’ve seen this with different musicians, the place followers can not see their idols as something however excellent. What do you make of that after engaged on this doc?
HIRSCHORN We have been very a lot struck by the diploma to which, even eight years into #MeToo, so many ladies are fiercely refusing to imagine that something about their idols may very well be lower than excellent. Add into that what I’d name the “staff sports activities” facet of social media, and it turns into very troublesome to get viewers to see the shades of gray in any controversy.
HALPERIN I don’t need to converse for all followers, however there’s positively a giant element of that at play right here, and it was a reminder of how private our connections are to celebrities and music, significantly those we fell in love with as children.
Fandom loyalty and toxicity are explored, with some taking to social media with loss of life threats as a result of somebody they idolize was, of their thoughts, was attacked. How did you hope to handle that within the docuseries?
HIRSCHORN Very a lot so. Particularly with Aaron, we wish viewers to take web trolling significantly. It’s not so simple as simply getting off social media. Trolling extends into actual life in profound and unsettling methods.
There was a current wave of exposé docs into well-known figures. Usually, they spark ramifications, whether or not skilled or authorized. What affect do you hope this doc could have for Nick and Aaron Carter relating to, respectively, accountability and legacy?
HIRSCHORN It’s not our place to push for a specific final result. It’s our place to inform a real story pretty and with empathy.
Final week, 50 Cent sold an investigative Diddy documentary to Netflix following a bidding conflict. The place will you level your lens subsequent?
HIRSCHORN I’m significantly involved in exploring the early days of actuality TV, a time I used to be actively part of as the top of programming at VH1. It was the Wild West again then, each fascinating and, at instances, a bit cringe.
All 4 episodes of Fallen Idols are streaming on Max.
