Comedian Carrot Top was hospitalized Friday after reportedly overdosing on prescription medication in what sources described as an apparent suicide attempt.
The 61-year-old entertainer took the medication at his Las Vegas home, according to sources familiar with the investigation who spoke to TMZ on Monday.
The performer, who was born in Rockledge, Florida, and whose real name is Scott Thompson, “remains hospitalized and under close medical care,” his representative told the outlet Sunday. First responders took him from his Las Vegas residence to a hospital two days earlier.
His representative added that Carrot Top “is now awake, breathing on his own and continuing to improve, surrounded by his family and those closest to him.”
The update on the comedian’s condition comes as he is also reportedly facing an alleged extortion attempt involving a former opening act, who has denied the accusations.
Our News Outlet has contacted representatives for Carrot Top for additional comment.
Carrot Top, 61, was hospitalized Friday after reportedly overdosing on prescription medication in an apparent suicide attempt. He is pictured in Las Vegas this past March.
The Florida-born entertainer, whose real name is Scott Thompson, “remains hospitalized and under close medical care,” according to his representative. He is pictured in Las Vegas in 2024.
A representative for the Clark County Fire Department told the outlet that emergency responders arrived at Carrot Top’s home at approximately 4:20 p.m. Friday after receiving a report that the performer was “not alert.”
A private ambulance and a Las Vegas city ambulance were dispatched to the residence, a source told TMZ. The private ambulance later transported Carrot Top to a medical facility.
In a statement to the outlet, Carrot Top’s representative said the comedian had been reading messages from people who told him his comedy helped them through difficult moments in their lives.
“He is now reading stories from people about how his comedy helped them through difficult periods in their own lives,” the representative said. “Hearing those stories and feeling that support has meant a great deal to him during his recovery.”
“Scott and his family remain deeply grateful for the extraordinary kindness and continue to ask that his privacy be respected.”
Before Friday’s incident, Carrot Top was allegedly asked to pay $500,000 by singer Brian Evans or face the release of a sexually explicit recording, according to a claim previously made by the comedian’s lawyer.
Evans rejected the allegation in a statement Sunday, telling TMZ: “I never threatened—ever—to post any video anywhere in exchange for a settlement … the video they are discussing—as I made very clear—was deleted a long time ago in accordance with the prior settlement.”
In a September 3 filing obtained by Our News Outlet, Thompson’s attorney alleged that Evans threatened to either demand $500,000 from the comedian or place sexually explicit content involving Thompson on a USB drive and submit it to a court’s legal docket.
The comedian, whose real name is Scott Thompson, was hospitalized Friday after reportedly attempting to take his own life only hours before a scheduled Las Vegas performance. He is pictured in 2007.
In an email to Thompson’s attorney, Evans did not provide specific details about the recording and maintained that his message was “not a threat.”
Evans also told the outlet Sunday that he was sorry Carrot Top “apparently did something to hurt himself.”
“I do not consider Scott to be a bad person … based on what I know—but he made a few decisions that were not good ones. That is not a reason to hurt himself,” Evans said.
‘Finally, it’s not my fault … that Scott did what he did. We don’t even actually know what he did. He survived and I am glad about that. Scott 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.’
Evans then elaborated that $500,000 needed to be sent to him ‘in immediately available funds’ for ‘resolution of all claims against Scott Thompson….’
He had previously explained: ‘Given the existing posture of the case and the coverage already in print, I expect the press will report the motion and will use its own imagination about what the USB is. That is a foreseeable fact about third-party reporting of a public docket. It is not a threat.’
Evans said in his email that he does ‘not control the public docket’ and does ‘not control the press.’
It is not clear if it was a demand or a bona fide offer of settlement, per the documents reviewed by Our News Outlet.
A representative for Thompson, Jami Schlicher, told Daily Mail in a statement: ‘A federal court recently declared Mr. Evans a “vexatious litigant” and described his filings as “serial” and “spurious”‘; Thompson seen in 2025 in Las Vegas
The entertainer had been ‘stories from people about how his comedy helped them through difficult periods in their own lives,’ his rep said. Pictured in 2007
However, in response to Evans, Thompson’s legal team called the case a ‘malicious threat’ intended to ‘expose’ the star.
‘This is not settlement communication,’ his lawyers wrote. ‘On its face it is a malicious threat to expose Thompson to disgrace, and to expose a secret affecting him, with intent thereby to extort money under the guise of litigation conduct.’
A representative for Thompson, Jami Schlicher, told Our News Outlet in a statement: ‘A federal court recently declared Mr. Evans a “vexatious litigant” and described his filings as “serial” and “spurious.”
‘In dismissing one of his cases with prejudice, the court went even further, stating: “It appears this entire case is designed to harass Defendants.” The court’s findings and Mr. Evans’s litigation record speak for themselves.’
Evans, who is representing himself, told Our News Outlet: ‘I never threatened – ever – to post any video anywhere in exchange for a settlement.’
He also said that it is ‘not the black and white story portrayed.’
Following Thompson’s hospitalization, fans and other celebrities such as Everybody Loves Raymond star Brad Garrett took to social media with kind wishes for Carrot Top amid his tough times.
Garrett uploaded an Instagram photo as he posed with Carrot Top and former co-star Ray Romano.
Carrot Top ‘is currently recovering, surrounded by his family and those closest to him,’ his rep said; seen in 2019
Following Thompson’s hospitalization, fans and other celebrities such as Everybody Loves Raymond star Brad Garrett shared a touching tribute on social media on Saturday
‘Oh my beautiful, talented friend @carrottoplive. We’re ALL thanking our lucky stars that you’re ok,’ the actor penned in the caption
‘Oh my beautiful, talented friend @carrottoplive,’ Garrett said. ‘We’re ALL thanking our lucky stars that you’re ok.
‘Please take this time to remember how appreciated and loved you are by so many. (Except Ray. It’s a long story, just trust me.) We’re here for you. We need you okay. YOU need you okay.’
Garrett added: ‘Whatever it takes we’re here for you. You’re getting a second chance for a reason. Use it wisely. We need folks like you around. Show yourself grace. We Love you.’
On Saturday, police were seen arriving at Carrot Top’s Las Vegas home, following his reported suicide attempt the previous day, which occurred just hours before a scheduled comedy show at Las Vegas’ Luxor Hotel and Casino, TMZ reported.
An eyewitness observed three police cars parked outside Thompson’s Las Vegas residence and provided photos to TMZ.
Thompson’s latest social media post was shared on Thursday, and promoted his scheduled Friday show.
He posted a 2018 poster of himself posing against an orange utility terrain vehicle and added the caption, ‘Just your average Thursday commute to the Luxor. TBT.’
Thompson, known for his high-energy prop routines, rose to prominence in the 90s.
On Saturday, an eyewitness observed three police cars parked outside Thompson’s Las Vegas residence and provided photos of them to TMZ; seen in 2024 in Las Vegas
He insisted, ‘I’m completely sober. I don’t smoke marijuana and I never have. I don’t think I have been drunk since high school, literally’; seen in 2001
Nearly one year ago, in November 2025, he sparked concern from fans when he was spotted looking disheveled while at a Las Vegas grocery store.
An insider later commented to Our News Outlet: ‘He didn’t ever think he was going to be photographed shopping, so he let his guard down – [he was] not in any makeup or anything.’
In a 2022 interview with Metal Life Magazine, Thompson spoke about his clean lifestyle.
He insisted: ‘I’m completely sober. I don’t smoke marijuana and I never have. I don’t think I have been drunk since high school, literally.
‘I have friends like Gene Simmons, he’s never had a drop of booze – zero. I’m not that pure. I definitely have a little Crown on the rocks right before a show.’
After a show, he said he comes home, watches TV and has a ‘glass of red wine.
‘I’m definitely not the drug guy. I’m actually more of a nerd than anything else,’ he told the outlet.
If you or someone you know needs help, please call or text the confidential 24/7 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline in the US on 988. There is also an online chat available at 988lifeline.org
