Hilary Duff spoke out against a tell-all of Aaron Carter’s life in the wake of his tragic death on November 5. The 35-year-old actress slammed the memoir titled Aaron Carter: An Incomplete Story of an Incomplete Life, which claims she lost her virginity to Aaron around the age of 13 when he was 12. In a statement given to HollywoodLife, Hilary called the book a “heartless money grab.”
“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 the appropriate time or care to fact check the validity of his work,” the Lizzie McGuire vet shared. “To water down Aaron’s life story to what seems to be unverified click-bait for profit is disgusting. In no way do I condone shedding any light on what is so obviously an uninformed, heartless, money grab.”
Aaron’s representatives agreed. After word spread that the book was slated to be released, his team thanked Hilary for speaking out. “We as Aaron’s Management would like to thank Hilary Duff for her statement regarding the book that is set to be released,” they told HollywoodLife. Aaron’s rep also used a portion of Hilary’s statement regarding the possible “heartless” financial gain to be made by the book’s author and publisher.
“In the few short days following our dear friends passing, we have been trying to grieve and process while simultaneously having to deal with obscenely disrespectful and unauthorized releases including an album titled blacklisted, a single titled “lately” and now 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,” his reps added.
The memoir was co-written with author Andy Symonds and is set for release by Ballast Books on Nov. 15. An excerpt obtained by the New York Post reads: “Hilary and I lost our virginity to each other at a hotel… in LA. I think it was her birthday, maybe her 13th [September 28 2000], but I don’t remember. Her friends walked in, and we just yelled at them to get out.”
While much more of Aaron’s private life is reportedly spilled on the pages of the tell-all by Symonds, the later singer’s rep EXCLUSIVELY told HollywoodLife that Aaron did not want the book to be published. “[Aaron] had no intention of it ever seeing the light of day,” the rep confided. “We are planning a funeral and there are people more concerned about profiting off of his legacy by releasing something that is chock full of lies?”
The rep continued, “The author of this book Andy Symonds has not spoken to Aaron in four years. We had no knowledge whatsoever that this was going to be released and Hilary Duff is right. It is so disgusting to us that anyone would be doing this. That is insane. There is no way to even check that Aaron said these things. It is just absolutely heartbreaking.”
When asked for comment, Symonds told HollywoodLife that the singer had “hired” him to “help him tell the world his story.” He continued, “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.”
He concluded, “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.”
When he first broke the news of the memoir, Symonds appeared over-the-moon to be bringing Aaron Carter: An Incomplete Story of an Incomplete Life to the masses. Taking to Instagram on Nov. 5 (above), the same day Aaron’s death was announced, Symonds shared a photo with the pop star, calling him a “kind, gentle, talented soul not without his demons.”
“He was so excited about telling his story, and we worked many hours on his book,” Symonds continued. “Sadly, we’ll never have a chance to finish it. I feel I owe it to him to release the parts we did complete during sporadic work over 3 + years. This photo was taken the day of our first interview, when I spent a good eight hours with him on his couch talking about everything from child stardom to Michael Jackson while he smoked weed nonstop. Rest In Peace my dude.”
Hilary’s reaction comes after she shared a heartbreaking tribute to her ex-boyfriend just hours after it was announced he had died in his home in Lancaster, California at the age of 34. “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. You have a charm that was absolutely effervescent.” She added, “Boy did my teenage self love you deeply. Sending love to your family at this time. Rest easy.” A cause of Aaron’s death has yet to be confirmed.
Hilary and Aaron started dating when they were barely teenagers in 2000. They had an on-again/off-again relationship up until 2003, when they officially split for good.