Backstreet Boys singer Brian Littrell ‘denies using homophobic slur’ after backlash to heated argument

Backstreet Boys star Brian Littrell has sparked major backlash online after confronting an alleged trespasser on his private beach.

The 51-year-old singer – who rose to fame alongside Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, AJ McLean, and Kevin Richardson – got into a heated exchange with a sunbather outside of his multimillion-dollar mansion in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida.

Littrell stormed across the sand where beachgoer Kyle Gallagher was sitting, filming him from behind as he relaxed on his towel by the water.

Initially unaware of the Everybody hitmaker’s presence, Gallagher was scrolling on his phone and wearing headphones but jumped up startled when he realised he was being recorded.

What followed was an intense argument, during which many social media users believed Littrell used a homophobic slur, something he was forced to deny.

‘You cannot be putting s**t in my face, bro,’ Gallagher began, reaching out and attempting to shove the phone down, to which Littrell warned him: ‘Don’t test me.’

Gallagher quickly got to his feet, instructing Littrell to ‘get out of my f***ing face’, causing him to get defensive.

‘You can’t grab my phone, dog,’ Littrell told him, leading to Gallagher starting to film in retaliation.

‘I’m on the wet sand right now, bro,’ Gallagher retorted, saying Littrell ‘came in [his] face out of nowhere’ and saying to his camera: ‘Look at this gay s**t.’

As the row continued, Gallagher informed Littrell that he had ‘lived across the street for 20 years’, so he is ‘never going to be left alone’ out there.

‘I will,’ stated Littrell. ‘No, you will not,’ Gallagher laughed.

Littrell turned his camera around and said: ‘This is what I deal with. This is what I deal with. People like this.’

‘You came and shoved your phone in my face, bro. You’re lucky I didn’t knock you the f**k out,’ Gallagher shouted, becoming more irate.

Littrell also asked the local, ‘You wanna be gay?’ and called him a ‘p***y’.

The quarrel carried on, with Gallagher reminding Littrell that the beach had ‘public access’ and that he was ‘done for’.

‘I can’t wait ’til this gets out,’ Littrell smiled to his phone.

Having been mocked by Gallagher, who said any case would ‘get thrown out’, Littrell had attempted to press criminal charges; deputies visited Gallagher’s home the next day, where he reiterated that he was caught off guard by the phone being so close to his face, saying he felt threatened and only reached out as a reflex.

Consequently, Walton County authorities decided to drop the matter, concluding that his so-called video evidence did not show enough criminal intent to warrant pressing charges. The case was closed.

This led to Littrell suing the county last month, alleging that they had not protected him against trespassers.

However, a judge also dismissed this, to which Littrell’s attorney, Peter Ticktin, said: ‘Littrell was assaulted by a hostile beach protester. A report was made to the feckless sheriff’s office.

‘The assault was awful enough, but the fact that the sheriff’s office is not enforcing the law makes our whole community one of greater danger.’

Meanwhile, the footage is now doing the rounds online, with Ticktin issuing a fresh statement to The Independent: ‘Mr Littrell and his family purchased what they saw as their dream home, only to discover an ongoing pattern of trespassing and harassment targeting private property owners along their and their neighbours’ stretch of beach.

‘These actions are not about public access; public beaches exist on both sides of the neighbourhood and remain open and uncrowded.

‘Instead, certain individuals appear intent on challenging the very concept of private property rights.’

He also stressed that, despite claims of what people online heard, Littrell did not use a homophobic slur in the clip.

‘It is deeply troubling that these incidents have been allowed to escalate due to a lack of enforcement by the local sheriff’s office. Homeowners are entitled to safety and privacy on their own property, and Mr Littrell is no exception.’

Still, the video certainly hasn’t gained Littrell any new fans, with many criticising him for claiming to ‘own that part of the beach’.

@FFAFamily wrote on X that Littrell himself ‘is the problem’, adding: ‘He may own up by his house but definitely not by the water!’

@shermjanae called him a ‘whole Karen’, while @AncientArgonaut wrote: ‘So basically it’s a public beach and Brian felt the need to come down and harass the beach goer by shoving a phone in his face. For the crime of being near his house. He thinks it’s his beach. Prosecutor could see exactly what this was.’

@trishhyland said the incident was a ‘waste of police time’ after Littrell called 911, with @elina_vibes echoing: ‘Glad the prosecutors saw it for what it was—just a messy misunderstanding and not some criminal battery case.’

The quest for privacy has been an ongoing battle for Littrell and his family – wife Leighanne, 56, and their son, Baylee, 23 – with his family previously claiming the alleged trespassing has caused ’emotional distress’.

‘It’s scary to have to be in this small community with a lot of angry people, honestly, and then making us out to be these monsters that we’re not,’ Leighanne told Fox News. ‘We love this town, but now we don’t know where to eat because of who hates us.’

Their legal team has continued arguing that the beach is Littrell’s ‘backyard’, after he purchased the property in 2023 for $3.8million (£2.9m), records show.

As for the truth, Visit South Walton reports that public access to privately owned beaches is allowed up to 20 feet landward from the wet/dry sand line.

This area is known as the Transitory Zone, which the public is encouraged to enjoy at their leisure.

Sunbathing is also permitted in those areas from 9am to 4pm.

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