Aaron Carter Passes Away, Aged 34

Aaron Carter, singer, rapper, and younger brother of the Backstreet Boys superstar Nick Carter, passed away at age 34.

As reported by TMZ, Carter was found dead in the bathtub of his home in Lancaster, California. Representatives for the Carter family confirmed his passing but made no further comments. While police responded to a call about a medical emergency at his home, they provided no other details.

Carter's fiancé, Melanie Martin, shared in a statement with TMZ: "My fiancé Aaron Carter has passed away. I love Aaron with all my heart, and it's going to be a journey to raise a son without a father. Please respect the privacy of my family as we come to terms with the loss of someone we love greatly. We are still in the process of accepting this unfortunate reality. Your thoughts and prayers are greatly appreciated."

Their son, Prince, will be a year old in just a few weeks.

Aaron Carter found fame in 1997 after releasing his debut self-titled album at just nine years old and opened for the Backstreet Boys during the same year. The album featured a cover of The Jets' Crush On You; the record went gold in Norway, Spain, Denmark, Canada, and Germany. His second album, released in 2000, Aaron's Party (Come Get It), sold over 3 million copies in the United States alone. 

His third album, Oh Aaron, was released in 2001 and followed his acting debut on the Disney Channel series Lizzie McGuire. His fourth album, Another Earthquake!, was released in 2002. In October-November 2006, Carter appeared in the reality show about his family, House Of Carters.

Hilary Duff, his Lizzie McGuire co-star, wrote on social media, "For Aaron– I'm deeply sorry that life was so hard for you and that you had to struggle in-front of the whole world. You had a charm that was absolutely effervescent…boy did my teenage self love you deeply. Sending love to your family at this time. Rest easy."

His fifth and final album and first in fifteen years, LOVE, was released in 2018. 

Aaron Carter appeared on the syndicated American talk show that features medical advice, The Doctors, in 2017 and 2019. The first time, he revealed his troubles with substance abuse. He subsequently went to rehab after getting arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and on marijuana charges. 

In the 2019 episode, Carter discussed his multiple personality disorder, schizophrenia, acute anxiety and manic depression diagnoses. "Why are you guys doing that to me? What did I ever do to deserve that?" he said through tears, explaining the impact of online bullying on his life.  

The diagnoses followed years of erratic behaviour from Carter. In 2019, he accused his sister Leslie - who passed away in 2012 from a drug overdose, aged 25 - of abusing him between the ages of 10 and 13 and went on to say that the abuse occurred when she didn't take her bipolar medication. He also accused Nick of lifelong abuse; Nick Carter's representatives denied the allegations.

It's another tragic, too-soon death of a former child star.