Celebrities including singer and actress Hilary Duff are reacting in shock to news of Aaron Carter's death. The former child pop star and brother of Backstreet Boys singer Nick Carter was found dead at his California home on Saturday. He was 34.
The Los Angeles Sheriff's Department confirmed that a deceased person was found in Carter's home but did not provide further details. There were no reports that foul play was suspected.
Duff, who once dated carter, recalled their time together in a heartfelt Instagram post.
“You had a charm that was absolutely effervescent… boy did my teenage self love you deeply," she said. "I’m deeply sorry that life was so hard for you and that you had to struggle in front of the whole world."
Carter, who released his debut album in 1997 when he was only 9 years old, has wrestled with addiction for years, sometimes sharing his experience publicly.
In a 2019 appearance on celebrity wellness TV show The Doctors, he held up a bag full of prescription drugs that he said he took after being diagnosed with multiple personality disorder, schizophrenia, manic depression and anxiety.
He has also been admitted to drug rehabilitation centres on several occasions.
"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 wrote on Twitter.
Singer and actor Tyler Hilton, who toured with Carter in 2019, called news of his death "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," he said.
Television personality and comedian Loni Love called him "funny, talented and cool".
"I felt that he was trying... he really was just trying to be happy. I'm sorry to hear of his passing," she posted on Instagram.
Born on December 7, 1987, in Tampa, Florida, Cater began performing at aged 7, releasing his debut album at aged 9. His second album, Aaron's Party (Come Get It) sold three million copies in the US, propelling him to teen heart-throb status. He became a regular on pre-teen Nickelodeon and Disney shows, including an appearance on the popular Lizzie McGuire.
Actress Melissa Joan Hart also posted a tribute to Carter, who appeared as a guest on her hit show Sabrina the Teenage Witch.
"Sending love to the family and friends and fans of Aaron Carter. Rest In Peace!" Hart posted, along with a photo of the two of them.
Carter's ex-fiancee Melanie Martin, mother of his son, Prince, uploaded a TikTok video of herself crying in a car shortly after news of the death broke.
“My baby,” the model, 30, captioned an Instagram Story photo of herself with the late singer on Saturday. “I can’t breathe.”
Scroll through the gallery below to see other famous people who have died in 2022
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Korean actress Kim Mi-soo died aged 29 on January 5, 2022. Photo: Landmark Entertainment -
Actor Sidney Poitier died aged 94 on January 6, 2022. Getty Images -
Director Peter Bogdanovich died aged 82 on January 6, 2022. AP Photo -
Oscar-winning composer Marilyn Bergman, pictured with her husband, Alan Bergman, died aged 93 on January 8, 2022. AP Photo -
American comedian Bob Saget died aged 65 on January 9, 2022. AP Photo -
Actor Gary Waldhorn died aged 78 on January 10, 2022. Getty Images -
Rock 'n' roll singer Ronnie Spector died aged 78 on January 12, 2022. AFP -
Designer Nino Cerruti died aged 91 on January 15, 2022. EPA -
Andre Leon Talley, fashion journalist and former editor-at-large for US Vogue, died aged 73 on January 18, 2022. EPA -
French actor Gaspard Ulliel died aged 37 on January 19, 2022. AFP -
Marvin Lee Aday, better know as the singer Meat Loaf, died aged 74 on January 20, 2022. EPA -
Actor Louie Anderson died aged 68 on January 21, 2022. Reuters -
Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh, died aged 95 on January 22, 2022. EPA -
Director Bassam Al Mulla died aged 66 on January 22, 2022. Photo: Sana -
Fashion designer Thierry Mugler died aged 73 on January 23, 2022. AFP -
Actor Moses J Moseley died aged 31 on January 26, 2022. Photo: Instagram / Moses J Moseley -
Former Miss USA Cheslie Kryst died aged 30 on January 30, 2022. AFP -
Legendary Bollywood singer Lata Mangeshkar died aged 92 on February 6, 2022. AFP -
Funk singer Betty Davis, ex-wife of jazz musician Miles Davis, died aged 77 on February 9, 2022. Photo: Fin Costello / Redferns -
Filmmaker Ivan Reitman died aged 75 on February 12, 2022. Reuters -
American satirist P J O'Rourke died aged 74 on February 15, 2022. AP Photo -
Bollywood singer and composer Bappi Lahiri died aged 69 on February 15, 2022. AFP -
Jordanian-Lebanese sculptor Mona Saudi died aged 76 on February 16, 2022. Photo: Lawrie Shabibi Gallery -
Singer Jane Marczewski, known as Nightbirde, died aged 31 on February 19, 2022. Photo: NBC -
Lebanese singer Sammy Clark died aged 73 on February 20, 2022. Photo: Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi -
British entrepreneur and YouTube star Jamal Edwards died aged 31 on February 20, 2022. AP Photo -
Mark Lanegan, of grunge band Screaming Trees, died aged 57 on February 22, 2022. AP Photo -
Children's author and illustrator Shirley Hughes died aged 94 on February 25, 2022. Getty Images -
Australian cricketer Shane Warne died aged 52 on March 4, 2022. AP Photo -
Emilio Delgado, who played fix-it shop owner Luis on Sesame Street, died aged 81 on March 10, 2022. AP Photo -
Actor William Hurt died aged 71 on March 13, 2022. AP -
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Ukrainian actress Oksana Shvets died aged 67 on March 17, 2022. Photo: Twitter -
Madeleine Albright, the first woman to serve as US secretary of state, died aged 84 on March 23, 2022. Reuters -
Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins died aged 50 on March 25, 2022. AFP -
Actor Paul Herman died on his 76th birthday on March 29, 2022. AFP -
British singer Tom Parker died aged 33, on March 30, 2022. AP Photo -
Rock 'n roll star Bobby Rydell and star of the movie musical Bye Bye Birdie, died aged 79, on April 5, 2022. AP Photo -
US actor and comedian Gilbert Gottfried died aged 67 on April 12, 2022. AFP -
US country music star Naomi Judd died aged 76 on April 30, 2022. AP -
South Korean actress Kang Soo-youn died on May 7, 2022, aged 55. EPA -
The late UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed, died aged 73 on May 13, 2022. AP Photo / Wam -
US actor Ray Liotta died on May 26, 2022 aged 67. Reuters -
Bollywood singer Krishnakumar Kunnath, known professionally as KK, died aged 53 on May 31, 2022. AFP -
Alec John Such, right, founding member of the group Bon Jovi, died aged 70 on June 4, 2022. Getty Images -
Cooper Noriega, a popular TikTok content creator, died aged 19 on June 9, 2022. Photo: Instagram /@cooper.noriega -
Philip Baker Hall died aged 90 on June 12, 2022. Invision / AP, File -
Actress Mary Mara died aged 61 on June 26, 2022. WireImage -
Theatre and film director Peter Brook died aged 97 on July 2, 2022 -
Manga star and inventor of Yu-Gi-Oh cards, Japanese cartoonist Kazuki Takahashi, died aged 60 on July 4, 2022. EPA -
US actor James Caan of Godfather fame died aged 82 on July 6, 2022. AFP -
Japan's former prime minister Shinzo Abe died aged 67 on July 8, 2022. AP Photo -
Soprano star Tony Sirico, left, died aged 79 on July 8, 2022. AP -
Ivana Trump, Donald Trump's first wife, died aged 73 on July 14, 2022. Reuters -
Pop artist Claes Oldenburg died aged 93 on July 18, 2022. Archive Photos / Getty Images -
Actress Shonka Dukureh died aged 44 on July 21, 2022. Photo: Warner Bros -
Goodfellas actor Paul Sorvino died aged 83 on July 25, 2022 -
US actress Nichelle Nichols died aged 89 on July 30, 2022. Photo: Bettmann / Corbis -
US actress Pat Carroll died aged 95 on July 30, 2022. AFP -
Basketball champion and the first black coach for any US professional sports team Bill Russell died aged 88 on July 31, 2022. AP Photo -
Australian singer Judith Durham died at the age of 79 in Melbourne on August 5, 2022. EPA -
Japanese fashion designer Issey Miyake died aged 84 on August 5, 2022. AFP -
British-Australian singer and actress Olivia Newton-John died aged 73 on August 8, 2022. EPA -
Author and illustrator Raymond Briggs died aged 88 on August 9, 2022. PA -
Actress Anne Heche died aged 53 on August 11, 2022. AP -
Former Pop Idol contestant and theatre star Darius Campbell Danesh died aged 41 on August 11, 2022. PA -
Director Wolfgang Petersen died aged 81 on August 12, 2022. Reuters -
South African actress and model Charlbi Dean Kriek died aged 32 on August 29, 2022. Photo: Invision / AP -
The last leader of the Soviet Union, former president Mikhail Gorbachev, died aged 91 on August 30, 2022. AP Photo / Boris Yurchenko -
British TV presenter and journalist Bill Turnbull died aged 66 on August 31, 2022. PA Media -
Queen Elizabeth II died at 96 on September 8, 2022. Photo: Royal Household / Ranald Mackechnie / PA Wire -
Philadelphia rapper PnB Rock was fatally shot during a robbery aged 30 on September 12, 2022. Photo: Invision / AP, File -
French film director Jean-Luc Godard died at age 91 on September 13, 2022. AFP -
US lawyer and judge Kenneth Starr died aged 76 on September 13, 2022. AFP -
Author Dame Hilary Mantel died aged 70 on September 22, 2022. Getty Images -
American actress Louise Fletcher died aged 88 on September 23, 2022. Photo: AP, File -
Yemeni oud player Ahmed Alshaiba died aged 32 on September 28, 2022. Getty Images -
US rapper Coolio died aged 59 on September 28, 2022. Photo: Brenda Chase Online USA Inc -
US activist Sacheen Littlefeather died aged 75 on October 2, 2022. AFP -
South Korean comic book artist Kim Jung Gi died aged 47 on October 3, 2022. Photo: Kim Jung Gi -
Grammy Award-winning singer Loretta Lynn died at age 90 on October 4, 2022. Getty Images via AFP -
Dame Angela Lansbury died of natural causes aged 96 on October 11, 2022 -
British actor Robbie Coltrane died at the age of 72 on October 14, 2022. PA Media -
Former Pentagon chief Ash Carter died aged 68 on October 24, 2022. EPA -
US actor Leslie Jordan died aged 67 on October 24, 2022. EPA -
Egyptian writer Bahaa Taher died at 87 on October 27, 2022. EPA -
American rock and roll musician Jerry Lee Lewis died aged 87 on October 28, 2022. Reuters -
US rapper Takeoff, born Kirshnik Khari Ball, died aged 28 on November 1, 2022. Photo: Invision / AP, File -
Singer Aaron Carter died aged 34 on November 5, 2022. EPA -
American actor John Aniston, father of Jennifer Aniston, died aged 89 on November 11, 2022. AP Photo -
The Clash guitarist Keith Levene died aged 65 on November 11, 2022. Mirrorpix -
American actor Jason David Frank died aged 49 on November 19, 2022. Photo: Invision / AP -
Latin Grammy-winning balladeer Pablo Milanes died aged 79 on November 22, 2022. AFP -
Fleetwood Mac keyboardist and singer-songwriter Christine McVie died at age 79 on November 30, 2022. Photo: Invision / AP -
Veteran Filipina actress Sylvia La Torre died aged 89 on December 1, 2022. Photo: Facebook -
Actor, musician and children's author Bob McGrath died aged 90 on December 4, 2022. AP Photo -
American actress Kirstie Alley died at aged 71 on December 5, 2022. EPA -
Filipino musician Jovit Baldivino died aged 29 on December 9, 2022. Photo: Jovit Baldivino / Instagram -
Composer Angelo Badalamenti died aged 85 on December 11, 2022. AP -
Stephen 'tWitch' Boss died aged 40 on December 13, 2022. AFP -
Terry Hall, lead singer of The Specials, died aged 63 on December 18, 2022. PA -
Primal Scream and The Charlatans keyboardist Martin Duffy died aged 55 on December 18, 2022. Getty Images -
Maxi Jazz, lead singer of British group Faithless, died aged 65 on December 23, 2022. EPA -
British actor and comedian John Bird died aged 66 on December 24, 2022. PA -
Musician Joseph 'Jo Mersa' Marley, grandson of Bob Marley, died aged 31 on December 27, 2022. Getty Images -
Brazilian football legend Pele died aged 82 on December 29, 2022. Reuters -
British fashion designer Vivienne Westwood died aged 81 on December 29, 2022. Getty Images -
US television journalist Barbara Walters died aged 93 on December 30, 2022. EPA -
Former pope Benedict XVI died aged 95 on December 31, 2022. AFP
