Singer Aaron Carter died this weekend at the age of 34, having been found unresponsive in his bathtub at his home. A specific cause of death has not yet been released. Today, his older brother Nick Carter—of the Backstreet Boys—posted a tribute on Instagram featuring a note and various photos of him and Aaron Carter together when they were younger, saying, “My heart is broken” and noting that, while the two of them “had a complicated relationship,” his love for his brother “has never ever faded.”
Aaron Carter, who had a career as a singer before he was a teenager, was open about his struggles with drug abuse into adulthood, and Nick Carter notes in his post that he had “always held on to the hope” that his brother would “somehow, someday want to walk a healthy path and eventually find the help that he so desperately needed.” He also says that “sometimes we want to blame someone or something for a loss,” but he says “the truth is” that “addiction and mental illness” are “the real villain here.”
Nick Carter ended his post by saying, “I will miss my brother more than anyone will ever know. I love you Chizz. Now you can finally have the peace you could never find here on earth….I love you baby brother.”
The Backstreet Boys are currently in the middle of a European tour, and a spokesperson told Variety that the tour—including a show tonight at London’s O2 arena—will go on as planned (at least as of right now). However, Variety says that some other events happening along with the tour, like meet-and-greets, have been canceled. The Backstreet Boys themselves have yet to release an official statement on social media regarding the future of the tour, though.
