Melissa Schuman on why she recorded a duet with Nick Carter after an alleged rape

• Melissa Schuman and Nick Carter recorded a duet together in the early 2000s, about a year and a half after she claimed he raped her
• Schuman talks about why she recorded the duet in the new ID documentary series Fallen idols: Nick and Aaron Carter
• Nick Carter has claimed that the encounter was consensual, and both a lawsuit and a countersuit are pending

Melissa Schuman talks about why she recorded a duet with Nick Carter months after he allegedly raped her.

The 39-year-old former Dream singer can be seen in the new documentary series Investigation Discovery Fallen idols: Nick and Aaron Carterin which she discusses in detail her claims that Carter, 44, raped her in his Santa Monica apartment in 2003 when she was an 18-year-old virgin.

In the documentary series, Schuman reveals that after the alleged incident, she did not want to record the duet “There for Me” with the Backstreet Boys star, but felt at a dead end because she wanted to start a solo career and needed the support of her management.

“When I look at that song now, it almost feels like it was intentional. It was presented as if it was actually helping me, but in reality it feels more like an alibi for him,” she says. “People don’t understand that and they say, ‘Well, you followed him on Twitter. You sent him your condolences. You liked a tweet.’ I really tried my best to forgive him and move on with my life.”

Schuman says that after her alleged assault, she was in “denial” and considered reporting it to the police but did not do so for fear of damaging her career. Instead, she told herself that she would avoid Carter for the rest of her life.

About a year and a half later, she decided to restart her music career after leaving Dream and signed with Kenneth Crear’s management company to start a solo career.

Schuman says she later learned that Crear was “like family” to Carter. She says Crear approached her with a song Carter had recorded, and they both wanted her to sing a duet on the track.

“My first thought was, ‘Do I have to be alone with him?’ And Kenneth says, ‘Oh no, it’s already recorded. You just have to go in and do your part,'” she recalls in the docuseries. “I could feel Kenneth’s eyes on me, like he was watching me. And he says, ‘Nick is dating Paris Hilton.'”

Schuman says she hoped Carter would leave her alone, and although she was “torn,” she decided to go ahead with the duet. Later, Schuman says, a showcase was arranged for Sony Records to help her get a record deal – and she was shocked when Crear said Carter would sing the duet with her. Schuman says she was overwhelmed, but went along with it for business reasons.

“When the show happened, I saw him and I froze. Completely frozen. I was scared,” she says. “And I was very cold to him and we sang our duet. I don’t even think I looked at him and at one point he said, ‘Well, obviously we don’t like each other.’ And those were the last words he ever said to me.”

Schuman said that weeks after the showcase, Crear told her that the label considered her “vocally weak” and would not sign her, which would have meant the end of her music career.

Crear did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

Schuman, who is now married and has a 13-year-old son, first made her allegations against Carter in a blog post on her website in 2017. He denied the allegations at the time and said that although they had sex, it was consensual.

In February 2023, Schuman was named in a countersuit Carter filed against Shannon Ruth, who had sued him two months earlier for alleged sexual assault. In his countersuit, the singer accused the women of exploiting the #MeToo movement and using it to launch a conspiracy to “defame and slander” him for attention and money.

Schuman sued Carter in April 2023 for sexual assault and battery in connection with the alleged 2003 incident. His lawyer said at the time that Schuman’s allegations were “false” and a “PR stunt.” Both lawsuits are still pending.

Fallen Idols is a four-part documentary series that follows the lives of Carter and his late brother Aaron, from their rise to pop stardom in the late 1990s to their tragic struggles and family disputes, including Aaron’s death in 2022.

Fallen idols: Nick and Aaron Carter Premieres over two nights on Monday, May 27 and Tuesday, May 28 from 9-11pm ET/PT on ID and streaming on Max.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or visit rainn.org.