Carrot Top’s legal team has formally confirmed the comedian’s suicide attempt for the first time in an emergency court filing aimed at silencing his alleged extortionist.
Attorney Ronnie Bitman filed the motion Sunday in a bid to stop singer Brian Evans from submitting further court documents after allegedly trying to blackmail the prop comic over a sex tape. The filing, which surfaced Tuesday, states that Scott Thompson, 61, the performer known as Carrot Top, was “hospitalized following a suicide attempt” on Sept. 18.
Bitman asked the court for “immediate protective relief,” including restrictions on Evans’ filings and the “deactivation of e-filing privileges.” The attorney described Thompson as a “national icon and entertainment treasure” and warned that “a public filing can become national news almost immediately.” The documents frame the situation starkly: “This is now an emergency in the most human sense.”
The filing accuses Evans of a persistent pattern of pressure. “This has been Evans’ modus operandi in repeatedly extorting Mr. Thompson with the threat of exposing him to ill repute, false allegations, and salacious materials,” Bitman wrote.
The legal maneuver follows earlier court documents from Sept. 3, filed in Broward County, Florida, where Thompson maintains a residence. In those papers, Bitman alleged that Evans, who had opened for Thompson’s Vegas show, demanded $500,000 in “immediately available funds” and threatened to file a sexually explicit recording of Thompson in the public court record “so that it may be obtained and disseminated by the press and other parties.”
Evans pushed back against the extortion narrative in a statement. “The communication was intended to be confidential,” he said. He maintained that he “never threatened — ever — to post any video anywhere in exchange for a settlement,” and claimed the footage “was deleted a long time ago” under a prior settlement agreement.
The singer expressed remorse over Thompson’s condition. “I am sorry that Scott apparently did something to hurt himself,” Evans shared. “He’s a great talent but these are issues he needs to deal with and move past.”
Evans continued with a conciliatory tone toward his former collaborator. “He is still young and has a big life ahead of him. It’s not my intent to bring this guy down. It’s the opposite.” Of Thompson’s survival, he added, “Thankfully he is still with us.”
Thompson’s representative, Jami Schlicher, confirmed the hospitalization to the outlet on the day of the incident but initially declined to address the suicide attempt specifically. “Mr. Thompson is recovering in the hospital and is receiving the care and support he needs,” Schlicher said in her first statement. “His family and those closest to him are deeply grateful for the concern, prayers and respectfully ask for privacy.”
By Sunday, Schlicher offered a more detailed medical update. Thompson “remains hospitalized and under close medical care,” she said. “He is now awake, breathing on his own and continuing to improve, surrounded by his family and those closest to him.”
She noted that Thompson’s trademark humor has persisted through the crisis. “Humor has always been such an important part of who Scott is and how he connects with people, and that remains true today as he shares moments of humor with the medical staff caring for him,” Schlicher added.
Reports said Monday that Thompson had overdosed on prescription medication at his Las Vegas residence. Clark County Fire Department responders arrived around 4:20 p.m. Friday after an emergency call about a 61-year-old male who was “not alert,” according to the outlet. Though a City of Las Vegas ambulance responded, Thompson was transported to a local hospital by private ambulance. The outlet published photos of multiple police vehicles with flashing lights outside the comedian’s home.
The incident has disrupted Thompson’s long-running residency at the Atrium Showroom at the Luxor, where he has performed since November 2005. Several scheduled shows were canceled following the hospitalization, and the run’s future remains unclear. The resort’s calendar currently lists his next performance for Sept. 28.
Thompson has periodically stepped outside his stage persona for television cameos, most recently appearing opposite Jean Smart’s fictional Vegas comedian Deborah Vance in a 2024 episode of “Hacks.” Beyond entertainment, he has attached his celebrity to anti-bullying advocacy, partnering with PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center in 2015 for the Together Against Bullying campaign. At a headlining show in nearby Reno, Nevada, he said he wanted “kids to know that they are special and don’t have to be victims to bullies.”
Thompson’s next scheduled show at the Luxor is set for Sept. 28 in Las Vegas.