To all those people who might have jumped the gun about thinking Lou Pearlman was a child molester -- yes, I include myself -- it turns out that he maybe, possibly didn't molest young boys.

 

As you all probably know by now, Pearlman is the man responsible for making the Backstreet Boys and N'Sync famous. He is primarily responsible for ushering in the boy band era that was so popular in the late 90s and early 00s. You may know him by his nickname, Satan. He is currently in jail on charges of fraud after allegedly scamming people in a pyramid scheme. So, you know, he's probably not the most stand-up guy. But a new article in Vanity Fair makes some not-so-subtle accusations that Pearlman had molested members of his boy bands when they were just young teens. Even for someone awaiting trial on fraud charges, child molestation is a pretty terrible accusation.

 

In a new interview, Pearlman spoke with Radar Magazine from his jail cell and defended himself against each of the accusations made in Vanity Fair. Here are some incredible excerpts:

 

On Phoenix Stone, an early edition Backstreet Boys member who claims Pearlman crossed the line with Nick Carter:


LOU PEARLMAN: "Phoenix Stone left the Backstreet Boys and was replaced by Brian Littrell. He came back years later, and I tried to help Phoenix again, but his fan base never materialized. He brought a frivolous [lawsuit] soon after when he couldn't find his fame. It was settled amicably, I thought."


On Aaron and Nick Carter's mother's elliptical comment that "something happened" with Pearlman that almost tore her family apart:


"Jane Carter has been in and out of settlement agreements with my company. I'm sure her boys, like I, have no idea what she is talking about. She's just trying to get attention, as usual. Just look at her problems with her family. After Aaron left his mom as his manager, he came back to me for management until recently. Not only are Nick and I still friends, he was in our studio recording a duet with Aaron."


On massages Pearlman allegedly gave to members of his bands:


"I paid for professional masseuses to give massages to our artists. I have no idea where this question is going? It is also true that I do not own a Neverland Ranch."


On Steve Mooney, the aspiring recording artist who said he lived in Pearlman's home for two years and alleged that Pearlman is "absolutely" a sexual predator:


"Steve was a limo driver for our company and drove me around on various occasions. He was also a disgruntled wannabe recording artist that is jealous because he can't sing. He never lived in my home."


On an incident described in the Vanity Fair story in which former Take 5 boy-band member Tim Christofore describes Pearlman swan diving on a bed full of boys and wrestling with them wearing only a towel (which falls off):


"T.J. [Christofore] is making up this story. He sued me in child labor court and lost. If what he says is true, you would think he would have brought it up to help his case. The fact that he never mentioned this in court should tell you where he's coming from. He's just trying to join the lynch party. Besides, I've never owned a towel that could wrap all the way around me anyway."

 

 

Ah, that's disgusting. To read the rest of Pearlman's point-by-point arguments, click here (I recommend you check this out, it's high comedy). To read Radar's full interview with Pearlman, click here.

 

After reading Sweet Lou's side of the story, I can say, he doesn't sound crazy or anything. In fact, he almost sounds reasonable. And it is a little odd that the people speaking out against him aren't the established boy band members, but rather relatives and aspiring singers that didn't achieve as much success.

 

On the other hand, have you seen Lou Pearlman? C'mon, just look at him, he obviously did it.* Let's just analyze the situation here. He decided in the early 90s that he was going to start a bunch of boy bands. At that time, Milli Vanilli and New Kids On The Block were pretty much the laughingstock of America, and yet he thought it would be a good idea to replicate them. Sure, it worked (extremely well), but what were the odds? Then, years later, he scammed a ton of people in a pyramid scheme, fled authorities, and was found in Indonesia -- the Unofficial Child Molestation Capital of the World -- under the alias Incognito Johnson. I'm not making this up, it really happened. So there are some things working against him in this debate.

 

Vanity Fair stands by its original story. I guess the only thing left to do is wait until all the facts come out. And laugh. Don't forget to laugh at Pearlman. Laughter is key.

 

 

 

 

[*Legal disclaimer: We believe Lou Pearlman is innocent until proven guilty, as this is the Constitutional right of every American accused of a crime. But, he's still shady.]

 

 

[UPDATE: Here is the Vanity Fair article in all its glory. The child molestation stuff is on pages 4-6.]