Hilary Duff is speaking out about the planned posthumous release of her late ex-boyfriend Aaron Carter‘s unpublished memoir.
News broke on Wednesday that the book, “Aaron Carter: An Incomplete Story of an Incomplete Life,” had been slated to hit shelves on Nov. 15, less than two weeks after Aaron’s tragic death.
In a statement to Access Hollywood, Duff slammed the release as “heartless.”
“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 capitalize on this tragedy without taking appropriate time or care to fact check the validity of his work,” her statement read. “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.
Aaron Carter’s Life In Photos
View GalleryIn their own statement to Access Hollywood, Aaron’s management team, Big Umbrella Management, shared gratitude for Duff’s words.
“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 friends passing, we have been trying to grieve and process while simultaneously having to deal with several obscenely disrespectful and unauthorized 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,” the statement continued. “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.”
Access Hollywood has reached out to Ballast Books for comment regarding both statements.
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View GalleryBallast Books previously told Access that author Andy Symonds had “spent three years intermittently interviewing Aaron” for the book.
“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,” Symonds said in a press release.
Carter died on Nov. 5 at his California home. A rep for the 34-year-old musician told NBC News, “We are extremely saddened and shocked to confirm the passing of Aaron Carter today,” his rep said in a statement. “At the moment his cause of death is being investigated. We ask that you give the family time and they will have more information when available. We cannot express the outpouring of love coming in.”