Aaron Carter, the troubled pop singer who had early success with "Aaron's Party (Come Get It)" and his cover of "I Want a Candy," has died at 34.
According to TMZ, Carter's body was found inside his house in Lancaster, California on Saturday morning. A cause of death was not immediately disclosed but the website cited sources as saying he was in a bathtub and that foul play was not suspected.
The singer, who is the younger brother of Backstreet Boys star Nick Carter, struggled most of his life with addiction and mental health issues and had several stints in rehab – including one in September – and very public battles with his family and girlfriends.
On a 2017 episode of The Doctors, Carter was asked to name his greatest fear. "Not being able to live as long as I can, that’s my greatest fear," he replied.
Carter admitted that he was using drugs like Xanax and Oxycodone, which he obtained either by prescription or off the street, to relieve "stress or pain or angst."
On the same show two years later, Carter said he had been diagnosed with multiple personality disorder, schizophrenia, acute anxiety and manic depression. “This is my reality,” he said, holding up a bag of six medications he has been prescribed – Xanax, Seroquel, gabapentin, hydroxyzine, trazodone and omeprazole.” He insisted that other than taking hydrocodone following a dental procedure, “I haven’t taken any opioids.”
A drug test administered by the show revealed Carter "tested positive for marijuana, extended opiates, hydrocodone as an example, and benzodiazepine."
The singer, who also revealed a years-long addiction to huffing, described himself as “a drug addict in recovery.”
Carter's sister Leslie, a one-time Toronto resident, died of an overdose in 2012 at the age of 25. In 2019, Aaron accused her of sexual abuse.
“My sister Leslie suffered from bipolar and took lithium to treat it," he tweeted. "She never liked the way it made her feel and when she was off of it she did things that she never meant to do I truly believe that.
“My sister raped me from the age of 10 to 13 years old when she wasn’t on her medications and I was abused not only sexually by her but by first two back up dancers when I was 8 years old.”
Aaron Carter inside Toronto's Lakeview Restaurant in the video for "I Want Candy." YouTube / Official Aaron Carter
Carter also alleged that his brother Nick “abused me my whole life” (Nick denied the claim) and repeatedly tried to get him put on a 5150 hold – the code in California law for an involuntary psychiatric commitment of people who suspected of being a danger to themselves or others.
In response, Nick tweeted a statement that read: “After careful consideration, my sister Angel and I regret that we were required to seek a restraining order against our brother Aaron today. In light of Aaron’s increasingly alarming behaviour and his recent confession that he harbours thoughts and intentions of killing my pregnant wife and unborn child, we were left with no choice but to take every measure possible to protect ourselves and our family. We love our brother and truly hope he gets the proper treatment he needs before any harm comes to himself or anyone else.”
In 2017, Carter's family reportedly said they were worried about him hurting himself, claiming that he was abusing prescription drugs or inhaling aerosol spray used to clean keyboards. The singer brushed off concerns. "I talk to no one in my family except my mother now," he tweeted. "Everyone needs to relax and let me enjoy my life without this false news. Thanks."
In 2018, Canada's Justin Bieber expressed his support. “I had your album when I was little. And bumped the song Aaron’s party,” Bieber tweeted. “I was like 7. if you need a hype man I got you. All love over here Aaron."
Fame at a young age is often more a curse than a blessing and Surviving it is not easy. RIP Aaron Carter - songwriter Diane Warren on Twitter
Carter started performing as a young boy and released his self-titled debut album when he was just nine years old. (He shot the video for his catchy cover of the 1965 Strangeloves song "I Want Candy" in Toronto.) He went on to release four more studio albums.
During an appearance on Toronto’s The Morning Show in in 2013, Carter spoke about facing "a lot" of struggles and how he felt ostracized by an industry that exploited him as a child. “It became very difficult,” he said. “I had to start trying to figure out ‘What am I going to do to start rebuilding myself and rebuilding my life? I have to find a way to get out there.’ It was very difficult and I had a lot of proving to do.”
He competed on Season 9 of Dancing With the Stars (finishing in fifth place) and had a lead role in the Off-Broadway show The Fantasticks — projects that allowed him to showcase his work ethic.
When Carter filed for bankruptcy in 2013, he listed total assets – including musical instruments, laptops and a TV – of $8,232.16 and liabilities of $2.2 million (all figures U.S.). He said he owed $1.4 million in back taxes and more than $31,000 to American Express.
According to Carter’s filing, he earns an average of about $2,000 per month — almost exactly what he spends. He said he is living with a relative.
In 2019, he launched a GoFundMe campaign in hopes of raising $100,000 U.S. and claimed to be broke and owed tens of millions of dollars. "I don’t have the money that I say I have,” he tweeted, adding that he had to use “misdirection and lie about my finances.”
In a video message on Instagram, Carter said: “I’m begging you and pleading [with] you. Help me raise $100,000 as soon as I can so I can move to an undisclosed location where I am safe … Please trust what I am saying and please donate the money."
In recent years, Carter shared nude photos and video clips on OnlyFans to supplement his income from occasional live performances. Last year, he signed on to star in the Las Vegas production of Naked Boys Singing but was reportedly axed before his first performance. He also took part in a celebrity boxing match in Atlantic City.
Aaron Carter, pictured in a Nova Scotia hotel room in 2019. Instagram /aaroncarter
Carter's last known time in Canada was in October 2019 when he performed at a club in Halifax – and his time in the country was documented on social media with a barrage of lies. He tweeted a photo supposedly from inside Halifax airport in which he is wearing orange sweatpants, and captioned it “they literally got me held up at customs wow. I’ll get out but seriously y’all gotta put me in a f**king orange jail suit and take all my jewelry away … Can’t take my phone though lol.” (Canada Border Services Agency does not put arriving passengers in an “orange jail suit” during screening and it can, in fact, take phones.)
Carter later claimed he was staying “high on a mountain in Halifax in a [Motel 6]” – when, in fact, he was at a Comfort Inn in Yarmouth (there is no Motel 6 in Nova Scotia).
Then, Carter claimed to have bought private Kaulbach Island, about 70 km from Halifax, for $7 million. “I put $1.5 million down to get away from the drama and make my music,” he tweeted at the time. But, a rep for realtor Mariana Cowan said the property was still for sale. (A home shown in the photo Carter shared on Twitter is not on the island.) He then claimed to have purchased a $629,900 home in Yarmouth in an Instagram post where he is pictured standing in front of the home with local realtor Mike Randall. At the time, Randall declined to comment at the time.
Carter is survived by Prince, his 11-month-old son with ex-fiancée Melanie Martin.
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health issues, click here to talk someone who can help.