HOLLYWOOD - Nick Carter, the youngest member of the Backstreet Boys, was arrested Wednesday in Tampa, Fla., for refusing to follow a police officer's order to leave a nightclub after a fight broke out.Carter, 21, was charged with a misdemeanor count of resisting or opposing a law enforcement officer without violence. The tipsy singer was handcuffed and placed in a squad car, but was later released on his own recognizance, the Associated Press reports.
He will appear in court on March 4.
In a statement released Thursday, Carter said he was a victim of his own celebrity status.
"I truly believe my celebrity motivated the officer to arrest me. I am certain that after a full investigation of the facts my name will be cleared."
The incident took place at the Pop City nightclub on Wednesday in Channelside at around 3 a.m. Police were called to the club to break up an unrelated disturbance and say Carter became involved in a heated argument with a woman while officers tried to restore the peace.
Police say they ordered Carter to leave at least 10 times before telling him he had to leave on "the count of three." They arrested him after he continued arguing with the woman.
According to a witness interviewed by The Smoking Gun Web site, the singer was in tears after being handcuffed and put in a police car.
"The cops arrested him, put him in handcuffs, and then put him in the police car. Nick wasn't belligerent, but he started bawling. He said, 'You just want to arrest a Backstreet Boy. I've never been arrested. I don't know what to do!'
"He was crying hard. Tears were streaming down his face. People were laughing at him. The cops were chuckling."
Carter lives just outside Tampa. He is the second Backstreet Boy to make headlines for running into trouble. In July, A.J. McLean, 24, was treated for depression and alcohol abuse at a rehabilitation center, causing the band to postpone their Black & Blue tour.