Backstreet Boys Ex-Manager Admits To Sabotaging Band to Help 'NSYNC

The heated rivalry between boy bands Backstreet Boys and ‘NSYNC in the late 90s and early 2000s was partially sparked by their joint manager Johnny Wright, Rolling Stone magazine reported Friday.

Wright, who previously also managed Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears, the Jonas Brothers Janet Jackson, and New Kids on the Block, admitted in a new documentary that he turned on the Backstreet Boys after they gave him an ultimatum.

Wright claims that he was working with the well-established Backstreet Boys and newcomers 'NSYNC at the same time, according to Rolling Stone, until the Backstreet Boys "became upset over newcomers ‘NSYNC’s rising success and popularity."

The Backstreet Boys members allegedly gave Wright an ultimatum over working with the rival group.

Wright says he told them, "OK, if I’m not working with you and them, then I have a responsibility to make them the biggest group in the world. And that means I’m going to turn all my guns against you to make them bigger."

Rolling Stone reported that Wright details how he "actively worked to undermine his former artists, like subbing ‘NSYNC in for the Backstreet Boys at the American Music Awards and booking stadium tour dates just weeks before the Backstreet Boys wanted to book shows at the large venues."

"They shut their stadium tour down to an arena tour because they thought they weren’t going to be able to sell the tickets," Wright reportedly said. "Every move that I found, they were doing something first, I tried to beat them to the punch. Success was my revenge."

The two-part docuseries Boy Band Confidential premieres on the Investigation Discovery network on Monday, April 13th at 9 PM (EST).

Backstreet Boys (Photo credit: Reisig & Taylor)