Aaron Carter is going to boot camp. The singer, 31, has joined the cast of WE tv’s Marriage Boot Camp: Reality Stars Family Edition, along with his mother, Jane Carter, to deal with harboring feelings of resentment and betrayal.
In a new interview conducted after the show, the actor reveals that the counseling he received in Boot Camp helped him work through his complex relationship with the late Michael Jackson.
“Michael was a really good guy as far as I know,” Carter, 31, says. “He never did anything that was inappropriate except for one time. There was one thing that he did that was a little bit inappropriate.”
Aaron Carter and Michael Jackson Gabriel Olsen/Getty Images; Phil Dent/Redferns
“Everyone having my back I appreciate you,” Carter, 31, tweeted on Tuesday, May 21. “My reasoning for even speaking on this subject is to tell my truth, be real and to also have his back based on my experiences with Michael. he was an amazing guy, I stand by that. So I ask u not to turn this into something it isn’t.”
He did not further elaborate but his statement does come as a surprise as Carter has stood by Jackson over the years. In 2001, the King of Pop met a then 14-year-old Carter and asked him to be part of his charity song “What More Can I Give?” The two had a close relationship and Carter recorded multiple covers of Jackson’s hits.
“Michael was an amazing man. All the people who ever said anything about him are just all full of crap. I was there with Michael and I know him. I know his true colors,” the “Hard to LØVË” singer said at the time. “I got so much hate when I said that Michael Jackson passed the torch to me. You guys realize that I have his jacket. I have his glove. I have lots of things from him — memorabilia that I would never even tell you about that’s sitting in a vault right now.”
On Marriage Boot Camp, Carter will also dive into his complicated relationship with brother Nick. “My brother and I weren’t talking before I went onto this show,” he says in another clip. “After we did it, we’re back [to] talking again.”
In 2017, the “Don’t Say Goodbye” singer opened up to Us about his family dynamic. “I’m close with my siblings, but it’s not like what you think. I’m close to my siblings like I am with … like Michael Jackson was with his,” he told Us at the time. “Like, that’s how I am. It’s weird if you think about it. I don’t know. I knew Michael very well, and he told me a lot of things that I can’t really repeat just because it would be everywhere.”
Marriage Boot Camp: Reality Stars Family Edition will premiere on WE tv later this year.
