Kaley Cuoco Name-Dropped in Nick Carter Lawsuit After Accuser Testifies She Confided in Her
A new detail has surfaced in the years-long legal battle between Backstreet Boys singer Nick Carter and former Dream singer Melissa Schuman: actress Kaley Cuoco’s name now appears in the case, after Schuman testified that she confided in Cuoco days after the alleged incident, according to a TMZ report published October 23, 2026.
TMZ said it obtained the transcript of Schuman’s April 2026 deposition, in which she was questioned about whom she told about the alleged assault. Schuman claims Carter assaulted her inside a Santa Monica apartment around 2003, when she was 18 and he was 22.
During the deposition, Schuman testified that she confided in Cuoco on the final day of filming in April 2003. Cuoco and Schuman starred in the film “The Hollows,” released in 2004, alongside Carter, the report noted. Schuman also testified that she received a text message from Carter after returning to the set, and claimed he later called her a “manipulative bitch.”
A case going back years
Schuman and another woman, Shannon Ruth, have sued Carter over separate alleged sexual assaults, TMZ previously reported. Schuman filed a police report in 2017, but no criminal charges were ever filed.
Carter adamantly denies the allegations and has countersued, claiming the women conspired to extort him. He says Schuman cost him millions of dollars in business and endorsement deals, and in his lawsuit he describes the night in question as consensual, adding that at no point did he sexually assault Schuman or anyone else.
Nothing in the reporting suggests any wrongdoing on Cuoco’s part — she is named only as someone Schuman testified she confided in, days after the alleged incident. Both lawsuits remain ongoing.