Witness Says He Saw Nick Carter and Melissa Schuman Making Out, Not Assault

The legal battle between Backstreet Boys singer Nick Carter and his sexual assault accuser Melissa Schuman just got a new witness in the courtroom. Carter’s defense team has filed documents featuring testimony from James“Tony”Bass, who says he was in the Santa Monica apartment on the night in question back in 2003—and that he didn’t see anything remotely close to what Schuman alleges happened.

According to Bass’s account, the evening looked a lot different than the accusation suggests. He testified that he witnessed Nick and Melissa drinking, socializing, flirting, and making out throughout the night. More specifically, Bass said he heard kissing and playful interactions between them, but crucially added that“[a]t no point in the night did I observe Melissa to be upset, fearful or otherwise distraught in any way.”He further stated that Melissa appeared“happy and totally comfortable throughout the night.”

Carter has consistently denied that any assault took place and goes further, claiming that Schuman and two other accusers conspired together to pressure him into a settlement. His legal team is also pointing to testimony from Schuman’s former talent agent, who claims that Schuman herself said the encounter was consensual. According to Carter’s defense, Schuman’s emotional distress came from moral and religious regrets about losing her virginity—not from any assault.

The paperwork filed by Carter’s team also highlights what they see as telling behavior after the alleged incident. They note that Schuman worked with Carter on a duet in 2004 and that the two performed together at an industry showcase in 2005. The defense argues that if the assault had truly occurred, this kind of professional collaboration would be highly unlikely.

As the case continues to unfold, the clash between competing narratives remains stark. Witness testimony, professional history, and conflicting accounts of what happened in that apartment two decades ago are now at the center of a legal fight that shows no signs of resolution soon.