‘I’ll be gone’: Carter’s post hours before death

Aaron Carter has been found dead at his California home, a spokesperson for the singer has confirmed. He was 34. 

Law enforcement was reportedly sent to the home of the former child pop star at about 11am on Saturday local time. This followed a call that a male had drowned in the bathtub.

A representative for the singer told the New York Post’s Page Six that the father-of-one’s family had been notified. 

“It is with great regret to confirm Aaron Carter was found unresponsive this am in his home in Palmdale, CA,” they said. 

“The family has been notified and will be flying out to Los Angeles. Aaron worked very hard towards the end of his life in recovery, to be a good father and to make amends with his family.”
 

‘I’ll be gone’: Final post hours before death

Carter was active across social media only hours before his death, posting on TikTok and Instagram in his final days.

His final social media post was a music video shared to Instagram that showed the singer-turned-rapper singing the lyrics: “I’ll tell my honey I’ll be gone but it’s not for long.”

He was shirtless showing his tattoos as he performed his verse on a stage about a love interest.

He then could be seen holding a cigarette as he rapped with CheckTheStar who also shared the video - the song is called “Lately (feat. Aaron Carter).”

“This classic song was inspired by toxic relationships,” the video’s description reads.
 

 

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Mic Garcia (@checkthestar)

 

Cause of death investigated

An official cause of death is unknown and it likely will not be disclosed until an autopsy and coroner’s report has been completed.

TMZ reports detectives are investigating the death as a homicide but the outlet was told that this is standard procedure.
 

Stars pay tribute

Fellow stars took to Twitter on Saturday to say goodbye to Carter.

Actress Hilary Duff - who dated Carter between 2000 and 2003 - posted a touching tribute to her ex. Carter also appeared on an episode of Lizzie Maguire in 2001, of which Duff was the star of. 

“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,” shared Duff in an Instagram post.

“You had a charm that was absolutely efferverscent... boy did my teenage self love you deeply.

“Sending love to your family at this time.” 
 

“Fame at a young age is often more a curse than a blessing and Surviving it is not easy. RIP Aaron Carter,” songwriter Diane Warren tweeted.

“No…. This @aaroncarter news is heartbreaking… this kid had such a spark. Known him for years and always really liked him, he was warm and really funny. Loved putting on a show and he was good at it. Ill find some pics of us and post more later… damn RIP budddd #aaroncarter,” singer-actor Tyler Hilton posted.

“Incredibly sad about the passing of Aaron Carter. My thoughts and prayers go out to his friends and family,” actress Christy Carlson Romano tweeted.

Carter’s final tweet was to Kanye West. “Yo Kanye let’s talk… man to man,” he posted November 3.

Child star’s rise to fame

Carter was born on December 7, 1987, in Florida. He started performing at a young age, even opening for the Backstreet Boys, Nick’s band, on their 1997 tour.

He released his self-titled debut album, which sold a million copies, that same year, shortly before he turned 10 years old. He went on to open for Britney Spears.

He rose to stardom in the late ’90s, selling millions of records with pop hits like I’m All About You, I Want Candy, and Aaron’s Party (Come Get It).

The pre-teen heart-throb became a regular on Nickelodeon and guest-starred on the Disney Channel.

In the peak of his fame in the early 2000s, Carter was in the middle of an infamous love triangle between teen sensations Hilary Duff and Lindsay Lohan. He famously appeared on Duff’s popular Disney show, Lizzie McGuire, playing himself and giving the titular character her first kiss.

The two dated for about two years before he moved on to Lohan. He seem to bounce between the two girls for a time, making red-carpet appearances and headlines with both.

The two women continued to feud through the years long after both of them had ended things with Carter.

He starred on a brief reality show with his family, House of Carters, and competed on Season nine of Dancing with the Stars.

Troubled years

In later years, Carter experienced personal troubles, including extreme weight loss and substance abuse problems. In July 2017, Carter was busted on DUI and marijuana charges in Georgia while in a car with his then-girlfriend, Madison Parker.

A judge dismissed the case last year, but he was placed on probation for 12 months and ordered to complete 40 hours of community service, attend DUI risk-reduction classes and subject himself to a drug and alcohol evaluation.

He was also directed to pay approximately $1500 in court fees and fines.

A Las Vegas court, meanwhile, granted Nick Carter a one-year restraining order against Aaron in 2019. The decision came one day after their sister, Angel, was also granted a restraining order, in which Carter was told to surrender his firearms.

Their request came after Nick claimed that his brother confessed to harboring intentions of killing Nick‘s wife, Lauren, who was pregnant at the time, and their unborn child.

That same year, Carter revealed he became addicted to opioids after being prescribed oxycodone following a fight in which he broke his jaw.

In 2020, Carter made his adult cam show debut on CamSoda and performed what he described as “classy” naked musical performances.

“I’m going to hop on the piano and then do some other kinky stuff like hot wax and you know, just some stuff like that, you just have to sign up to see it,” he told Page Six at the time.

“I actually suffer from body dysmorphia so it’s kind of ironic that I’m comfortable doing that when I suffer from it,” he explained.
 

 

As recently as September, the Fool’s Gold singer revealed that he had “voluntarily” checked into an outpatient program of a rehab centre in order to try and regain custody of his 11-month-old son, Prince.

Then, just a few days ago, he was pulled over by police on suspicion of a DUI, according to TMZ.

Aaron said at the time that he was seeking help to manage “triggers” that made him want to smoke marijuana, and also admitted to taking Xanax as part of a “regimented medication” plan to keep him “clean from huffing dust”.

Engagement and custody battle

He was engaged to Melanie Martin. “My baby,” Martin captioned a Saturday Instagram Story photo with Carter. “I can’t breathe.”
 

 

The pair, who welcomed a son on November 22, 2021, had an on- and off-again dysfunctional relationship.

Carter shared in September that he was voluntarily attending an outpatient rehab program in order to regain custody of Prince.

This article originally appeared on Page Six and has been republished with permission