Nick Carter Arrested For Alleged Battery

Troubling news for the Backstreet Boys: Nick Carter was arrested on a misdemeanor battery charge after allegedly getting into a bar fight on Wednesday, Jan. 13. According to a police report obtained by TMZ, staff at the Hog's Breath Saloon in Key West told police that Carter, 35, and his friend Michael Papayans allegedly became angry and violent after they were refused service at the bar and began attacking staff. Bar staff claimed the singer and his friend were intoxicated to the point that the bar refused to serve them and tried to kick them out. They allegedly went after the bar employees with Carter "grabbing a bouncer by the throat" and Papayans "headbutting" the bar manager. Bustle has reached out to Carter's rep for comment, but has not yet heard back.

In police video obtained by TMZ, Papayans is heard telling an officer that while he understood the fact that the bar was trying to make them leave, "they tackled me like they were f*cking Navy SEALS or something." The site reports that both men were restrained by the time police showed up and were subsequently arrested for battery. Carter, who is expecting a baby with his wife Lauren Kitt, reportedly remained in custody this morning as he awaited a 1 p.m. court appearance.

Carter has been open about his struggles with alcohol in the past. In 2009, he got real about his alcoholism with People, explaining that the night before he was expecting some serious health-related test results back, "I went out and just went nuts. I drank so much and I did a bunch of blow. I felt like I was trying to kill myself — because I didn't want to get the results," he said at the time. The results came back and Carter was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy, a heart condition that can result in sudden death, and which killed Bee Gees singer Andy Gibb at 30 and Chris Penn at 40, way before their time.

"I don't want to die," Carter told People at the time. "I don't want to be that person people read about and think, 'That's sad that he couldn't stop it and killed himself.'"

Carter, who once referred to himself as a "hardcore alcoholic," sobered up and appeared to completely turn his life around, placing second on Dancing With the Stars, marrying girlfriend Kitt, and announcing her pregnancy live on DWTS. The Backstreet Boy is still doing well professionally, touring with BSB and recently dropping his latest single (featuring Avril Lavigne), entitled "Get Over Me."

In addition to his struggles with alcohol, this is also not the first time Carter has been associated with violence. In 2004, it was rumored that he allegedly abused then-girlfriend Paris Hilton, which he vehemently denied to People at the time. "I'll tell you one thing," he told the magazine, "I didn't touch her. I'm not that kind of guy." For her part, Hilton declined to press charges against the singer.