Nick Carter said he is “shocked and saddened” by Melissa Schuman’s rape allegations against him

In October, Nick Carter joined the ranks of famous men accused of sexual assault. But now Carter has denied the allegations of rape against him. The 37-year-old former Backstreet Boy responded to a blog post in which singer Melissa Schuman accused him of raping her when she was 18.

"I am shocked and saddened by Ms. Schuman's accusations," Carter told People.comin a statement on November 22nd. "Melissa never expressed to me any time 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 former member of pop group Dream wrote that Carter raped her when she went to his apartment during a day off from filming the 2004 movie The Hollow. She wrote that he ignored her protests, as well as her insistence that she was waiting until marriage to have sex.

"He was relentless, refusing to take my no's for an answer," Schuman wrote in her post. "He was heavy, too heavy for me to get out from under him.

Carter’s ex-girlfriend, Kaya Jones reacted to the allegations in a tweet. She wrote that Carter had failed to support her when she faced her own sexual abuse while she was a member of the Pussycat Dolls and related his inaction to Schuman’s allegations.

"He knew about the abuse I endured and did nothing. I guess I now know why. Disgusting. Disgraceful. Disgusted in my heart. Especially because he was a victim of abuse himself. Shame on you Nick!"

Nick Carter was my boyfriend while I was in the Pussycat Dolls. He knew about the abuse I endured and did nothing. I guess I now know why. Disgusting. Disgraceful. Disgusted in my heart. Especially because he was a victim of abuse himself. Shame on you Nick!

— Kaya Jones (@KayaJones) November 22, 2017

We know how hard it can be to face the fact that someone you admire has been accused of sexual assault, but it’s still important to listen to and believe the victims. Abusers must be held accountable — no matter who they are. It is the only way we can put an end to sexual violence against women.

We’ll be watching to see how this story unfolds, and our thoughts are with Schuman at this time.