Dirty Pop: The Boy Band Scam leaves true crime fans “uncomfortable”

If you’re looking for your next true crime obsession, Netflix’s Dirty Pop: The Boy Band Scam is worth a watch – but it might leave you feeling “uncomfortable” in more ways than one.

The new docu-series examines the rise and fall of the late Lou Pearlman, the man famous for forming some of the ‘90s biggest boy bands, including Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC.

Alongside this, Pearlman appeared to be a successful entrepreneur, running airline and blimp businesses under his Trans Continental banner. But behind the scenes, it was a different story. 

Warning: some may find the following content distressing. 

Following accusations of exploiting his bands financially, both the Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC took Pearlman to court and successfully opted out of their contracts. 

When he was subsequently sued by his own attorney, the FBI uncovered the truth: Pearlman had been running one of the biggest Ponzi schemes in history. 

Although there is some discussion of Pearlman’s personal life, the three-part documentary only touches upon the rumors that he was an alleged sexual predator.

There were never any charges against him and Pearlman always denied the allegations, with O-Town’s Erik-Michael Estrada saying in the doc, “Never saw it. Wasn’t a part of my life. Wasn’t a part of my experience.”

However, he did say there was some “suspect behavior,” adding, “If those things actually did happen, I feel bad for any victims and anyone who was taken advantage of.”

Following the release of Dirty Pop: The Boy Band Scam on Netflix, one fan took to Reddit to write, “This man who had all this access and money and power… who chose to surround himself with young boys. That photo of him with Justin on the boat… very uncomfortable.”

Another said on X/Twitter, “Lou Pearlman was blinded by greed. I don’t feel bad for him at all. His demise was his own doing.”

Others felt irked by the fact that the docu-series used AI to create footage of Pearlman reading excerpts from his book ‘Bands, Brands and Billions’ from beyond the grave. 

One viewer described it as a “little unsettling,” while another said, “Why would they do this? Such poor taste.”

However, a third added, “The AI narration is less creepy than I imagined. It’s all the photos of him hugging young boys that’s giving me the ick.”

Huffpost has since criticized the doc, pointing out that it either brushes over or ignores various significant details about the case. 

This includes the fact that much of the boy bands’ success was “on the back of Black talent” and that it arrives a couple of months after ID’s Fallen Idols, which delved into sexual assault allegations against Backstreet Boys’ Nick Carter.

The feature also points to well-documented facets of Pearlman’s past, including the allegations made against him in a 2007 report from Vanity Fair. 

Steve Mooney, an aspiring singer who served as Pearlman’s assistant and lived in his home for two years, told the outlet at the time, “Some guys joked about it; I remember [one singer] asking me, ‘Have you let Lou blow you yet?’ 

“I would absolutely say the guy was a sexual predator. All the talent knew what Lou’s game was. If they say no, they’re lying to you.”

The fact this hasn’t been discussed in much depth in Dirty Pop has been picked up by viewers at home. 

“With the engagement storm and success of Quiet on the Set I figured they would lean into spilling the real tea about Lou’s creepy factor,” said one Redditor. “The only comment made was the guy saying that he was asexual.”

A second agreed, “This seemed to have good interviews but no hard-hitting journalism, it was so surface level. Felt like an introduction, maybe there will be a part two?”

For more true crime, read about where the ‘Man with 1000 kids’ Jonathan Meijer is now, how to watch the new Andrew Tate documentary and what happened to Phil Spector.