From Britney Spears to Kanye West, we all just can’t seem to look away from a highly-publicized celebrity breakdown. While some stars downhill spiral comes out of left field, others have been slowly building up to a major meltdown for many years in the making. Aaron Carter has been traveling down a rocky road for a while now, and it was only a matter of time before people started to take notice of the bizarre string of controversies he’s been involved in. There’s nothing easy about being a former child star who’s struggling to get another stab at music career, but Aaron takes the term ‘thirsty’ to a whole new level. Carter has recently risen from the depths of obscurity and has miraculously managed to get the attention he has been so desperately craving. After all, Aaron’s outlandish behavior has been the only reason why his name has appeared in the press at all in the past decade. While AC’s eccentric antics may be his way of staying in the spotlight, we’ve become completely enamored by the pop star's signature wayward ways. Here are 15 times that Aaron Carter was a total train wreck and we couldn’t look away.

15 When He Was Arrested For a DUI

There has been speculation for quite some time now that Carter has been involved with some unsavory extra-curricular activities, but the star has long denied that he is anything but sober. Due to his deteriorating appearance, many assume that Carter has been addicted to a variety of things, and all of their concerns came to a head this past summer when the singer was busted for a DUI. Carter made headlines following his arrest in Georgia on suspicion of driving under the influence. A concerned passerby phoned the police to note that Carter’s car was swerving on the road and when he finally pulled into an AutoZone store he and his girlfriend at the time were busted on a number of charges. Both parties were charged with possession and obstruction of law enforcement as they were cuffed and taken into custody. Their melancholy mugshots made their rounds on the internet as Aaron tried desperately to do some damage control. While the star still is adamant that he’s not a drinker nor drug user, his police report surely says otherwise. Despite being a total train wreck moment for Carter, he found himself getting more press coverage for his bad behavior than he’s had in years for his music career.

14 When He Couldn’t Pay A $110 Auto Bill

While driving himself around the country on tour, Aaron Carter was already on a downward spiral even before he was arrested earlier this summer. After details about his arrest came to light, new details emerged stating that the wayward star found himself in hot water hours earlier when he couldn’t come up with the funds to pay for his flat tire. According to reports, Carter pulled into a Walmart Supercenter in Georgia in an attempt to fix his car. He left the vehicle at the facility and when the repairs were done and it was time to pay-up all of Aaron’s cards were declined. The frustrated star attempted to leave the store while telling the employee to call his management to get the money, but the people at Walmart weren’t about to play any games with the “I want Candy” star. The authorities were called to the scene and spoke to Aaron regarding the $110 auto bill, but fortunately a fan recognized the star and offered to cover the cost in exchange for an autograph and a selfie. While it’s common knowledge that Aaron has had ongoing struggles when it comes to managing his finances, if he can’t afford a $110 bill to fix a flat he has more money problems than anyone ever anticipated.

13 During His Messy ET Interview

Hot off the heels of his controversial arrest, Carter attempted to flip the narrative of his inexplicable actions by sitting down for an exclusive interview with Entertainment Tonight. In the interview, Aaron got super emotional while discussing his version of the events that took place leading up to being hauled off in a police car this past July. Carter continued to place the blame on pretty much everyone but himself, insisting that he can’t drink alcohol due to an underlying medical condition and alleging that the police ‘targeted’ him due to his celebrity status. Aaron then pushed the interviewer to ask him if he has ever been under the influence of any hard drugs, to which he responded “no” with a slight stutter. The tearful star let all of his emotions out on the table as he discussed his many struggles. On top of that, Aaron also talked about his desire to get married and start a family with his girlfriend of the moment, Madison Parker. All in all, Aaron’s ET interview was a very grand showing of just how off the deep end he really is. His inability to take responsibility for his actions paired with his excessive excuses and deflections are enough to show that he has some serious issues he’s not being honest about. We really want to see Aaron succeed, but right now it seems like he’s got a one-way ticket on the hot mess express.

12 When He Came Out Of The Closet

This past August, Aaron created quite a buzz following his impromptu announcement that he was bi. The star posted a lengthy message to his social media accounts depicting his feelings for both men and women and the struggle of keeping his true identity a secret since the tender age of thirteen. Carter went on to admit the relief he felt about coming to terms with his orientation, stating, “This doesn't bring me shame, just a weight and burden I have held onto for a long time that I would like lifted off me”. The surprise confession went viral in a matter of moments and Aaron received tons of positive feedback for choice to finally go public with the information. Of course, it’s great for Aaron to be open about loving whoever he wants, but the bold admission came at a rather shady time. Carter’s declaration about his orientation came less than a month following the dramatic coverage of his recent arrest, and it also strangely coincides with the release of his upcoming album. Could it be that Carter’s confession is simply a carefully calculated move to salvage what’s left of his public image while simultaneously promoting his new music? We might never know the answer, but with Aaron’s track record of shady behavior anything is possible.

11 When He Dramatically Quit Social Media

Aaron has sworn off all social media too many times to count, but the troubled star is always a glutton for punishment and restores his accounts within moments of dramatically calling it quits. Most recently, Carter deleted his Facebook and Twitter accounts after receiving some negative feedback following his Instagram reveal. While Carter did receive an outpour of support from fans and followers, there are always a few haters who like to stir up some unnecessary drama. The heat was unbearable for Carter, who ultimately decided it was time to forgo his online presence. The star took to Twitter to announce his hiatus, stating, “Be safe my loves. I'm sorry but I can't do this Twitter social media stuff right now. I'll check in with you in a few months." While Carter alluded that he would be stepping away from social media for an extended period of time, not having an outlet for all of his attention-seeking needs proved to be too much for Aaron, who reactivated his social media status a few short hours after proclaiming he had had enough. As usual, everything Aaron does is a move to generate more attention his way. Carter feeds off of the publicity – whether it’s positive or negative. His back and forth banter paired with his inability to commit to a decision for more than a couple of hours is just another reason why his career, and his life are in shambles.

10 When He Hit On Chloe Grace-Moretz

Recently reeling from a public breakup from his former girlfriend, Madison Parker, following his arrest and the news of being interested in both genders, Aaron exhibited signs of more irrational behavior when he took it upon himself to hit on Chloe Grace-Moretz via Twitter. We can’t say that many women would exactly be swooning over being asked out on a date in the form of a tweet, and we doubt that Chloe was flattered by the star’s very public advances. It all started when Chloe was interviewed by Variety magazine and revealed that Carter was her childhood crush. The actress told the publication, “When I was four years old I thought Aaron Carter was so cool, And then my friend, when we were both little babies back in Georgia, she liked Aaron Carter, too. We used to fight about who would date Aaron Carter one day. Who knows? Maybe we’ll meet.” Aaron didn’t hesitate to awkwardly ask Chloe out, tweeting, “Mmmm may I take you to dinner @ChloeGMoretz?” The impatient singer immediately followed-up with another tweet, saying, “Hey @ChloeGMoretz – let’s set up a date. The crush is mutual.” Perhaps Aaron failed to see the portion of her interview where she said she had a crush on him when she was practically in preschool, but we think his window of opportunity has been closed for quite some time now. Aaron’s fervor to cling to anyone who is willing to give him attention comes off as desperate AF…and we’re all taking notice.

9 When He Got ‘Jumped’ By NKOTB Fans

Hey Aaron, here’s a little piece of advice: if drama seems to follow you everywhere you go, you might actually be the one who’s causing it. Things never seem to be going smoothly for Carter, and when he traveled to Boston to perform he found himself in a rather peculiar situation. According to Carter, he was ‘jumped’ by a group of four men who came at the star for encroaching on “New Kids On The Block” territory. Yup…that’s really the story he chose to go with folks. Aaron insists he was simply minding his own business when a group of hooligans yelled to him, “I heard you’re doing a show here tomorrow, this is the town of the New Kids!” before physically assaulting him. Following his alleged attack, Carter immediately took to social media to show off his brand new battle wounds in search of sympathy. While Aaron was clearly outnumbered, he insisted that he was the only winner in the brawl, saying, "I think my knuckles might be broken, but that's what they get. People think I'm a pretty little white boy but no way. I think I won. I'm still standing." In addition to posting multiple snapshots of his black eye and battered hands, the singer went above and beyond to show that he can defend himself, stating, “I’m a 6th degree black belt in Muay Thai...They lost.” In a hilarious exchange, when asked about Aaron’s so-called self-defense skills Nick quipped, “He is not a black belt in anything. Dancing, maybe. Dance fighting." It sounds like nobody believed Aaron’s duplicitous story – even his own brother thinks he’s making a mockery of himself.

8 When He Made A Racist Remark Onstage

Aaron Carter’s name is always in the news for all the wrong reasons, and he found himself at the center of a scandal yet again following one of his concerts in February of this year. According to multiple reports, Aaron was performing a show in Illinois when one of the members of his opening act jumped on stage and attacked him following an allegedly racist remark the singer made. Few of the details of the event make much sense, but Aaron requested that one of the members of the group Ill State be removed from the venue because he was being loud and obnoxious during AC’s performance. As the person in question was being escorted out by security, Aaron took it upon himself to taunt him by yelling “Bye, Felipe”. Of course, Aaron’s insult was a spin on the popular “Bye, Felicia” diss that is commonly used from the movie Friday, but the individual took it as a racial slur and that’s when everything really went south. The enraged band member rushed toward the stage and came straight for Aaron, leaving him bloodied and having to seek medical care. Following the incident, widespread headlines of Carter’s alleged racism surfaced all over the place. Instead of laying low, Carter made matters increasingly worse by using Twitter to defend himself. Aaron insisted that he meant no ill intent by his remark, but he continued to dig a hole for himself by saying that he has a “100% Mexican manager and she is basically my adopted mom. And my ex-girlfriend Myra 3rd generation Mexican." Never one to back down, Aaron rambled on and on, stating, "I also learned Spanish so I could speak with her parents who weren't fluent in English. And I'm the racist?" Needless to say, Carter should have taken the high road in this situation, but he’s become such a parody at this point that we wouldn’t expect anything less than over the top behavior from him anyway.

7 When He Beefed With Bieber

We’ll be the first ones to admit that Justin Bieber has had his fair share of train wreck behavior over the course of his career, but Aaron Carter is certainly in no position to judge. Carter has made his disdain for the popular singer crystal clear and has lashed out against the Biebs on numerous occasions. While Justin continues to slay the music charts while pumping out hit after hit, Aaron appears to be a bit jealous that he’s not the one in Bieber’s position. The clearly jealous star slammed his competition by insisting that he “paved the way” for Justin to even have a career at all. While Aaron did establish a singing career at just seven years old, he insinuated that Justin and his management are “threatened” of Aaron’s upcoming music during a recent podcast. In a final shot at Bieber, Aaron stated, “I sold more records, even to this day, than Justin Bieber. Look at my SoundScan. If you don’t believe me go do the research yourself.” Aaron’s one-sided attack on Justin looks super childish and shows that Carter really is out of touch with how far his career has really sunk.

6 When He STILL Obsesses Over Hilary Duff

If there’s one thing that could be considered Aaron Carter’s ‘claim to fame’ other than being a textbook train wreck it’s that he once dated Hilary Duff as a young teenager. Carter met Hilary when he guest starred on an episode of Lizzie McGuire when he was just thirteen and the pair embarked on a middle-school style romance. Of course, like almost any childhood relationship, things between the two fizzled out about as soon as they began. Many will remember the controversy surrounding the rumor that Aaron actually cheated on Hilary with Lindsay Lohan, and apparently he’s still kicking himself for his careless decision all these years later. While most people always have a special place in their hearts for their ‘first loves’, Aaron’s admiration has transformed into to a full-fledged obsession. While it has been over fifteen years since the pair were an item, Aaron still takes to Twitter to profess his undying love for the blonde beauty.

In 2014, Carter boldly tweeted, “Don’t be that stupid d–– that loses the love of your life forever. Like me.” But the madness didn’t stop there – Carter sent out even more less-then-subtle messages to his former flame by saying, “I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to better myself to get back to her. I don’t care what ANY of you think.” When a fan outright asked if Aaron was referring to Duff, his response was “sure am.” Aaron has continued to reference his infatuation for Hilary on a number of occasions, including posting a “TBT” to Instagram of he and Hilary with the caption “Yup I definitely loved this girl” along with a broken-heart emoji. Aaron showed no signs of stopping his quest to get Hilary’s attention until she spilled the beans on how uncomfortable his advances were to Cosmo magazine, stating, “Him reaching out through social media? It's ridiculous!" Never one to take rejection well, Carter lashed out at Hilary with one final tweet that said, “Some s**t I just don't get. Stop. Talking. About. It. ... I did.” It’s obvious that Aaron’s lack of maturity plays a major role in his talent being overshadowed by his delusions.

5 When He Compared Himself To Michael Jackson

Carter has been notorious for his bizarre Twitter rants and his oddball antics, but Aaron took things to a whole new level in 2014 when he referred to himself as the “white Michael Jackson”. If you’re already rolling your eyes at Aaron’s ridiculous ramblings, it’s about to get increasingly worse. Aaron has been very vocal about his relationship with the late music icon, even going as far as saying that the legend “passed down the torch” to him to be the next big thing in the entertainment world. While the multi-faceted star does possess more talent than he’s given credit for, he’s certainly not the next Michael Jackson. Carter continued to reminisce about his feelings for the King of Pop, telling reporters, “Michael called me the ‘Little Prince of Pop’. He’s the one who gave me a jacket. I don’t have to explain myself more than I already have.” When outraged MJ fans lashed out against Carter for comparing himself to Jackson, he fired back, “No he compared himself to me. I knew Michael VERY well and spent lots of time with him. Just stop right there”. It sounds like Aaron is living in a fantasy world if he really thinks that he is even remotely comparable to someone like Michael Jackson, and it’s just one of the many times he acted like a complete mess in order to stay relevant.

4 When He Lost All His Millions

Aaron has been actively trying to pursue a career in music since he was just a little kid, and like most child stars, he hasn’t always had the easiest life. While Carter had all of the right connections to break into the entertainment industry since his brother was a famous Backstreet Boy, his parents played a major role in setting the star up for future failure. While Aaron claims to have earned over $200 million by the time he turned eighteen, he had no idea that his mother and father were dipping into his savings to fund their own lavish lifestyle. Aaron later found out that he was the one who was funding his family’s $10 million Florida compound that consisted of twelve homes on a widespread plot of land. After his eighteenth birthday, Aaron discovered that he only had $ 2million in the bank…and that he owed over $4 million in tax liens. With being in such deep debt, Aaron had no choice but to file bankruptcy in 2013. Of course, the filings became public knowledge and the whole world became privy to the star’s embarrassing list of assets (or lack thereof) including a watch, flat screen TV, and some music equipment valued at a couple thousand dollars. Quite possibly the most awkward thing on his list of possessions was his pet bulldog, King, who Aaron listed as being worth “zero” dollars. Ironically, Aaron’s chapter seven bankruptcy was revealed after he continuously posted to social media about how many Louis Vuitton bags he has and how he always has money to blow. It’s clear to see that turbulent times were inevitable for the troubled singer, and his parents swindling money from him definitely didn’t help his situation.

3 When He Proposed To A Playmate

Aaron has depicted some peculiar behavior over the years, and perhaps one of the earlier red flags of his impending train wreck status was when he impulsively proposed to a Playboy playmate in 2006. Eighteen year old Carter eagerly got down on one knee and popped the question to twenty-two year old Kari Ann Peniche in front of a live audience during a Playboy event in Las Vegas. Peniche has had her own demons to deal with, as some may remember her from her multiple volatile appearances on Celebrity Rehab. To make matters even worse, Peniche previously dated Aaron’s brother, Nick, before shacking up with the youngest of the Carter clan. While at first Aaron’s eagerness to settle down may seem almost endearing, it’s important to point out that the couple’s engagement lasted a mere six days before they called it quits. After their breakup, Peniche told People, “He's really young and just needs to get his act together. I don't know what's going on right now.” This is just one of the many fast-paced romances that Carter would partake in before dramatically splitting up and moving on to his next flavor of the week. Aaron’s wayward ways have been unpredictable and eccentric for as long as he’s been in the spotlight.

2 When He Stole AJ McClean’s Girlfriend

When it comes to dating, everyone knows that the golden rule is to never romantically pursue your friend’s significant other. Of course, Aaron has never been one to play by the rules and he threw all of his loyalties aside when he hooked up with AJ McClean’s former girlfriend, Kaci Brown. At the time, Brown was an aspiring pop star who was opening for the Backstreet Boys on their 2005 tour. Brown was heavily involved with AJ before Aaron complicated things by making a play for the brunette singer. It’s never a good look to steal your buddy’s girl, but Aaron was willing to risk his longtime friendship with McClean for a girl he hardly even knew! All of these shenanigans happened at lightning speed, as Carter had just broken off his engagement to Kari Ann Peniche two months prior. Speaking to the media about his rebound relationship, the lovesick star said, “Now I’m in a great relationship. I’ve only known her for, like, seven days, but I have a connection with her that’s like nothing else I’ve ever experienced. It's really amazing." We wonder what AJ had to say about all of the drama surrounding his bandmates little brother and his former flame, but we think he probably dodged a bullet by getting involved. Aaron hasn’t been able to get his priorities straight in a long time and his impulsive actions have only gotten more bizarre as time goes on.

1 When Aaron & Nick Fought Over Paris Hilton

Sure, there has been no shortage of epic reality TV shows over the past decade or so, but House of Carters was one for the record books. Back in 2006, Aaron and the rest of his siblings signed on to star in their very own series for the E! Network. House of Carters consisted of the entire clan of Carter kids living under one roof for the first time since they were little. Naturally, eldest brother Nick took on a the role of the parental figure while caring for his four siblings, and it didn’t take long before Aaron started to clash with his big bro in a major way. In an unforgettable episode, Nick and Aaron went head to head after Aaron refused to turn down his loud music while Nick was trying to get some shuteye. Nick stormed out of bed to confront Aaron and things escalated quickly. Since Nick was trying to take on an authoritative role and Aaron was never one to conform to authority, the brothers battled it out in a dramatic fist-fight. The pair screamed at each other in a heated exchange before the real root of their problems was revealed once and for all – Nick was still holding a grudge at Aaron for hitting on his ex, Paris Hilton. In the ultimate truth-bomb, Nick revealed to his sisters that he doesn’t trust his brother because when he broke up with Paris, Aaron went behind his back to swoon the heiress by taking her out and buying her roses. To add insult to injury, the next day Nick found Aaron’s cell phone that had pictures of Paris on it, smiling alongside Aaron while posing in Nick’s Cadillac. Seriously…we couldn’t make this stuff up if we tried. Aaron’s eager pursuit of Paris wasn’t the first time that he tried to go after his Backstreet Boy brother’s ex, and it probably wasn’t the last either. There’s no denying that it’s a super sleazy move for Aaron to swoop in on Paris Hilton right after she and Nick split, and his careless actions are just another example of his self-destructive behavior.

Sources: ETonline.com, DailyMail.co.uk, People.com, LifeandStyleMag.com, Billboard.com, DigitalSpy.com

Next 10 Celebs With Side Businesses Fans Never Knew About
About The Author