Aaron Carter’s Management Slams Unauthorized Release of Memoir

Aaron Carter‘s management team has released their first statement following the singer-turned-rapper's passing this past weekend. Per Billboard, Carter's team called out publisher Ballast Books for their “obscenely disrespectful and unauthorized releases” planned from the late star, including an album, single and book.

The statement, sent from Taylor Helgeson of Big Umbrella Management, thanked Carter’s ex-girlfriend Hilary Duff for speaking out against a posthumous book release. The book is titled Aaron Carter: An Incomplete Story of an Incomplete Life. An excerpt from the memoir published by New York Post claims that the stars lost their virginity to each other, and Duff is taking issue with the lack of fact-checking for the project. “It’s really sad that within a week of Aaron’s death, there’s a publisher that seems to be recklessly pushing a book out to capitalize on this tragedy without taking appropriate time or care to fact-check the validity of his work,” Duff said in a statement, per Billboard.

In the statement from Carter’s management team, they thanked the former Disney star for her response to the memoir, which they say is “unauthorized." The full statement reads: “In the few short days following our dear friend’s passing we have been trying to grieve and process while simultaneously having to deal with obscenely disrespectful and unauthorized releases including an album, a single and now it seems a book. This is a time for mourning and reflection not heartless money grabs and attention seeking. We would ask the parties responsible to remove the aforementioned content and that no further content be released without approval from his family, friends, and associates.”

Andy Symonds, the book’s author, said in a statement that Carter chose him to write about the singer’s life. “Aaron Carter hired me to help him tell the world his story,” Symonds says. “That story, while tragically cut short, was filled with good and bad. His life was far from pretty, and understandably certain people in the public eye don’t want some of the stories Aaron tells in his book to come to light. That doesn’t make them any less true or newsworthy. Aaron had a right — as we all do — to tell his story. As a journalist, I am honored that he chose me to help him do that. In addition to being cathartic for him, Aaron hoped this book would help others struggling with addiction and mental illness. I hope and believe it will do that.”

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