Overview
- Duff wore a vintage T-shirt bearing a young Aaron Carter during her Lucky Me World Tour show in Philadelphia on Aug. 9, 2026, a low-key onstage tribute captured in photos and fan videos.
- Duff and Carter were teen stars who dated on and off from about 2000 to 2003, and Carter guest‑starred on Duff’s Disney Channel series Lizzie McGuire in 2001.
- Aaron Carter died in November 2022 and the Los Angeles County medical examiner ruled his death an accidental drowning with contributing factors of alprazolam and inhaling compressed air.
- Duff has repeatedly defended Carter publicly since his death, posting an Instagram tribute in 2022, criticizing a posthumous memoir as a 'money grab,' and saying a psychic told her Carter had communicated with her this year; she also remains close with his sister.
- The subtle tour tribute has renewed media attention on their early‑2000s relationship and on debates over how Carter’s life and legacy are portrayed after his death, and it underlines the personal way survivors keep a public figure's memory alive.