Aaron Carter has found himself at the center of attention for a myriad of publications this past week and all the wrong reasons.
The 31-year-old singer has been blamed of profiting through the sale of rescue dogs, an accusation that materialized after a recent post on his Instagram handle, in which he could be seen posing with a young bulldog that he’d adopted from a Los Angeles pet shelter.
The caption read, ‘I just couldn’t leave him there, I fell in love with him instantly and now he’s home with his new daddy.’
A later video he posted, however, sparked the first round of allegations. In the clip, Carter said, ‘This is my new buddy. If I can’t keep him, I am going to be listing him. He’s 10 months old, and he’s running for $3,500. I’ve rescued many dogs and found them homes.’
While not necessarily illegal, the act of selling rescue shelter animals to the highest bidder without regard for their well-being is undoubtedly morally questionable, though the shelter in question did clarify that they would take no legal recourse at this time, stating, ‘Our goal is to find each animal a forever home, and when someone adopts, they become the legal adopter. His actions aren’t illegal, and there have been no reports of him harming the animal. Unless there is criminal activity going on, we are unable to ask for the adopter to return the dog.’
The controversy came at a time when Carter has just split up with his long-time girlfriend, Lina Valentina.
Addressing his followers after the break-up, Carter said, ‘We had even talked about having kids, but we couldn’t seem to get past our differences, and the relationship eventually turned unhealthy. I don’t have any regrets being with Lina, and I definitely learned a lot about myself.’
Carter’s last studio album, entitled Love, released back in early 2018.