For fans of boy bands like Backstreet Boys and NSYNC, the ‘90s (and early 2000s) were quite a time to be alive. While many boy band fans knew all there was to know about each pop group’s members and tour dates, the details surrounding Lou Pearmlan may be vague. Now, Pearlman, widely thought of as the father of the pop boy band scene, is the focus of a new Netflix documentary, Dirty Pop: The Boy Band Scam. The three-part series seeks to fill in the blanks for fans who may have been a bit young to understand why Pearlman made headlines and, later, ended up in jail.

One of the two executive producers of Dirty Pop is Michael Johnson, a drummer and former member of one of Pearlman’s boy bands, Natural. Johnson appears in the documentary, along with fellow Natural member Patrick King, NSYNC’s Chris Kirkpatrick, O-Town’s Erik-Michael Estrada, and AJ McLean and Howie Dorough from the Backstreet Boys. In a recent interview on the Real Form Radio with Dan Cleary podcast, Johnson spoke about creating the docuseries and went deeper into his relationship with Pearlman, who he describes as “one of my best friends in the world” in spite of the allegations made against him.

Johnson says he’s been trying to make Dirty Pop since 2009, a process that’s been an emotional road for the former boy band member. “There is such dark tragedy,” Johnson said of his storytelling efforts on Real Form Radio, “and also so much to be celebrated that came out of this. It’s crazy.”

Also crazy are many of the shocking revelations that came out in the Netflix original series. Read on for five of the biggest and most surprising things we learned from watching Dirty Pop. 

Pearlman’s Ponzi Scheme Was Much Bigger Than Boy Bands

Pearlman is credited with starting bands like the Backstreet Boys, NSYNC, O-Town, LFO, and Natural, but the series shines a light on the fact that managing boy bands was just one part of Pearlman’s multi-tiered Ponzi scheme. Pearlman manufactured blimps, convinced investors he ran a successful airline, and more, all the while using his wildly-popular bands as a way to bring in money and gain credibility. 

On the Reality Life with Kate Casey podcast, Johnson explained Pearlman’s crimes “started decades before boy bands were a thing.”

“[Boy bands were] his show to get people to feel like they were a part of something that was new and exciting and cool to get them to invest,” Johnson said. “We were kind of the puppets in front of all these investors to make them feel like they could be a part of something exciting, if only they’d invest X amount of dollars.”

Band Members Thought of Pearlman As a Close Friend

Most of Pearlman’s investors thought they were getting a high-yield, FDIC-insured savings account that would safely increase their retirement savings. In 2006, People reports, investigators determined he had swindled investors out of hundreds of millions of dollars, much of which was never reclaimed. Pearlman was arrested in 2007 and convicted of conspiracy, money laundering, and making false claims in a bankruptcy. In 2008, Pearlman was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Despite his criminal activities, Johnson says many members of his boy bands truly considered Pearlman a friend, also stressing that Pearlman’s band members were unaware of any criminal activity during their involvement with the band manager. 

“It’s insanely hard to believe what he actually pulled off,” Johnson said on Reality Life. “How could one person both have the longest-running Ponzi scheme in American history and also create the biggest pop bands in world history that are still on top of the world today?”

“He brought you in as a true, loyal friend,” he continued, “Everybody that was close with him can tell you 20 to 30 things that he did for us that no other friend has done … how can that person, while he was listening to me talk to him about my grandfather dying and giving me his private jet to make sure I was at the funeral, [have] an international crime going on 24 hours a day?”

Many Hold Pearlman Responsible For Frankie Vasquez’ Death

The docuseries addresses the death of Pearlman’s business partner and lifelong best friend Frankie Vasquez, who the Tampa Bay Times reports died of carbon monoxide poisoning that was ruled “an apparent suicide” in 2006. Vasquez’s mother, Julia Vasquez, had invested over $150,000 in Pearlman’s business ventures, and in the docuseries, makes claims that Pearlman played a role in her son’s death. Other friends and employees of Pearlman allude to similar speculations in the series.

On Real Form Radio, Johnson shared his own thoughts on Vasquez’s death. “A lot of people talked about [the possibility that Pearlman had Vasquez killed] in their interview and they actually got scared and told us not to include it,” he said. “Frankie was Lou’s best, best friend and right hand man with all of his endeavors … right when the kingdom was crumbling, Frankie died.”

“A lot of people think that Frankie knew what was going on and that Frankie was going to out Lou to the feds, and that Lou had him killed,” Johnson continued. “Even [Frankie’s] mother thinks that.”

Pearlman Took Johnson Along On His Run From the FBI

Pearlman was apprehended in Bali, Indonesia in 2007 after several months of being on the run outside of the U.S. with Johnson in tow. Johnson says he had no idea Pearlman had committed any crimes or was hiding out in the foreign countries they visited. When Johnson realized what was going on, he says he left the Bali trip and went home to his family. 

“It was not your typical on-the-run-from-the-FBI story,” Johnson, who was 22 at the time, said in his Real Form Radio interview. “I would be flying back and forth, meeting him in Germany or Panama or Bali or whatever. I wasn’t with him the entire time, but I was with him a lot … I had no clue [that investigators were looking for Pearlman]. Lou was always in some sort of trouble.”

“He was always surrounded by lawsuits and turmoil,” Johnson added. “He was living in a gray area forever and that’s all I knew … he was stressed, but he was more stressed to make things right because a lot of his close friends [who had invested in his businesses] were pissed and looking to bring him to justice. He was not worried about going to jail.”

Pearlman Died In Prison And Had a Sparsely-Attended Funeral

After developing an infection following heart surgery, Pearlman died of cardiac arrest in 2016 while serving his 25-year prison sentence. According to the docuseries, only five people attended Pearlman’s funeral, and Pearlman’s cousin, famed performer Art Garfunkel, refused to claim his body.

Johnson remained in contact with Pearlman “throughout his stint in prison,” he said in his Reality Life interview. “Mostly because I really wanted to tell this story and I felt bad for somebody that had been my friend,” he explained. “For me, if any of your friends end up in prison it’s a very strange thing. Loyalty is a very strange thing.”

Johnson says Pearlman attempted to manage bands from prison as a way “to do anything and everything to pay his way out of prison.” As part of his sentencing, Pearlman was told that for every million dollars he returned to his victims, his sentence would be shortened by one month. Of the roughly $500 million dollars Pearlman stole from investors, only about 10 million has been recovered.

Johnson sympathizes with Pearlman, who was 62 when he died in prison, calling him “a very insecure kid that got ridiculed and picked on, trying to be liked and have friends.” 

“At one time, the entire world was his friend,” said Johnson. “Now, he’s in an unmarked grave with nobody going to his funeral so it’s a hell of a fall.”

All three episodes of Dirty Pop: The Boy Band Scam are available to stream on Netflix now.

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