Hilary Duff has branded the release of the late Aaron Carter’s unfinished autobiography “heartless”.
The “I Want Candy” singer was found dead last weekend aged 34 and just a few days later, Ballast Books confirmed they will be bringing out “Aaron Carter: An Incomplete Story of an Incomplete Life” on Tuesday, much to the fury of his former girlfriend, who slammed the "disgusting" publishers for cashing in on death.
Following the news about the release of the book, which alleged Duff and Carter lost their virginities on her 13th birthday, the “Younger” star issued a statement.
She said: “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 capitalise on this tragedy without taking appropriate time or care to fact-check the validity of his work.
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“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.”
Carter’s management team, Big Umbrella Management, thanked the former “Lizzie McGuire” star for speaking out as they also condemned the release.
They said: “We as Aaron’s management would like to thank (Hilary) Duff for her statement regarding the book that is set to be released,” the statement read.
“In the few short days following our dear friend’s passing, we have been trying to grieve and process while simultaneously having to deal with several obscenely disrespectful and unauthorised releases.
“These releases include an album, a single and now it seems a book.
“This is a time for mourning and remembering an incredible soul lost, 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.”
Ballast Books have yet to comment on the statement.
Author Andy Symonds, who spent three years interviewing the former child star for his book, previously insisted he “owed it” to Carter to release the book.
He said: “Aaron was a kind, gentle, talented soul not without his demons. He was so excited about telling his story, and I feel I owe it to him to release the parts we did complete.
“Aaron was an open book during the writing process. It’s a tragic irony that his autobiography will never include all his stories, thoughts, hopes, and dreams as he intended.”