Nick Carter sued over Key West bar brawl arrest

Backstreet Boy Nick Carter, arrested in Key West earlier this month after a bar brawl, now is being sued by one of the bar employees.

Skylar Carden, 21, is accusing Carter of battery in the lawsuit filed Monday, says his Florida attorney, Mark DiCowden.

“Nick Carter has shown the world that he is nothing more than a backstreet thug,” DiCowden said in a statement accompanying the lawsuit..

The lawsuit said Carter “violently attacked” Carden by “striking and choking” him. during an altercation at the Hog’s Breath Saloon, a popular pub on Key West, on Jan. 13.

As a result, the suit says, Carden suffered “bodily injury, mental anguish, pain and suffering.”

According to his suit, Carden says Carter punched and choked him at the bar after the singer/dancer and expectant dad and his friend were ejected for drunk and unruly behavior.

When a bartender refused to serve Carter and his friend, Michael Rae Papayans, because they were already too drunk, they became angry, agitated and aggressive and were told to leave, according to the Key West Police report. Outside, they got into a fight with bar employees.

Carter and Papayans were arrested by Key West Police, charged with misdemeanor battery and booked into the county jail, then released after pleading not guilty and posting $1,500 bail. They were ordered to stay away from the bar (Slogan: “Hog’s breath is better than no breath at all”).

DiCowden said Carden was “just doing his job” to maintain order and did not deserve to be attacked.

“Carter’s backhanded apology in the form of a tweet was a crude attempt to control public relations and did nothing to address his remorse for the harm he caused Carden,” DiCowden said. “No amount of fame or fortune justifies Carter’s shameful and outrageous conduct. To send him that message and deter his misbehavior in the future, we will seek punitive damages against him as allowed by Florida law.”

Carden’s lawsuit does not specific how much he is seeking; DiCowden said a jury will decide the amount of damages.

Carter, whose wife is pregnant and who recently scored high on Dancing With the Stars, is an original member of the Backstreet Boys, which just celebrated a 20th anniversary with a new album and a reunion tour.