CNN
—
Aaron Carter, the former child pop singer and younger brother of Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys, has died, a source close to the family told CNN. He was 34.
A spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office told CNN that they responded to a call for help at Carter’s Lancaster, California home around 11 a.m. local time Saturday morning, where a man was found dead at the scene.
He was found dead in his bathtub, the source said.
Authorities did not release any information on a possible cause of death.
Carter, who first rose to fame as a boy with pop hits like “I Want Candy” and “Crush on You,” is survived by his 11-month-old son, Prince.
The singer’s debut studio album, “Aaron Carter,” was released in 1997, and he opened for the Backstreet Boys earlier that year. His fifth and final studio album, “Love,” was released in 2018.
Carter was also known for her roles in television shows such as “Lizzie McGuire” on the Disney Channel and “7th Heaven” which premiered on the WB Television Network. He also appeared in his family’s reality series on E! Entertainment TV, “House of Carters.”
The singer received love and support from fans and other celebrities in 2017 after he came out as bisexual.
“There is something I want to say that I feel is important to myself and my identity that has been weighing on my chest for almost half of my life,” Carter wrote on Twitter. “It doesn’t cause me shame, just a weight and a burden that I’ve been holding on to for a long time that I’d love to lift off of me.”
He then explained that around the age of 13 he “began to find boys and girls attractive”.
“It took years for me to think about it, but it wasn’t until I was 17, after a few interactions with girls, that I had an experience with a man I was attracted to who I also worked with and grew up with.”
The singer opened up in 2019 on The Doctors about his struggles with multiple mental health issues, including multiple personality disorder, schizophrenia, acute anxiety and manic depression.
“This is my reality,” Carter said while holding up a plastic bag containing multiple prescription bottles in one clip posted to the show’s Facebook page.
In 2017, Carter was arrested in Georgia on suspicion of driving under the influence and possession of marijuana while he and then-girlfriend Madison Parker were traveling through Habersham County.
The singer later said in an interview that he does not drink and denied having a drug problem, CNN reported.
“I don’t need any help,” he said. “What I need is for people to understand that I’m human and that I make mistakes like every other person in this world, but I would never risk my life or my girlfriend’s life.”
