Key Takeaways
- Carrot Top's attorneys allege in a court filing obtained by TMZ that singer Brian Evans demanded $500,000 to resolve claims against the comedian, whose legal name is Scott Christopher Thompson.
- Evans allegedly threatened to enter a sexually explicit recording of Thompson, stored on a USB drive, into the public court docket if the payment was not made.
- Thompson's legal team calls the message a malicious threat to expose him to disgrace, while a rep for Thompson notes a federal court has labeled Evans a "vexatious litigant" with "serial" and "spurious" filings.
- Thompson remains hospitalized after a suicide attempt on Friday, prompting the cancellation of his Luxor show, and his rep says his focus is on health and recovery.
Carrot Top's attorneys claim the comedian was being blackmailed in the weeks prior to his hospitalization in Las Vegas.
In a filing obtained by TMZ, lawyers for the 61-year-old, whose legal name is Scott Christopher Thompson, allege that singer Brian Evans threatened to enter a sexually explicit recording of him, stored on a USB drive, into a court's legal docket unless he received $500,000 to settle.
One message quoted in the filing lays out the demand in plain terms.
"Path A remains available on the terms previously stated: Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($500,000.00) in immediately available funds, in exchange for resolution of all claims against Scott Thompson... Otherwise I will proceed with the motion for leave as the next filing," Evans allegedly wrote.
Evans also addressed how he expected reporters to handle the USB drive, according to the filing.
"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," he allegedly wrote.
Thompson's side reads it differently. "This is not settlement communication," his legal team 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."
Evans, a former opening act for the comedian, filed a complaint against Thompson on July 8 in federal court in Florida, alleging Thompson sent him an unsolicited sexually explicit video. He has since filed an additional suit claiming defamation and fraudulent misrepresentation, and he is separately challenging a 2024 settlement agreement, arguing that psychological stress from the August 2023 Maui wildfires impaired his capacity to enter into it.
A rep for Thompson pointed to Evans's record in court. "A federal court recently declared Mr. Evans a 'vexatious litigant' and described his filings as 'serial' and 'spurious,'" the rep said, adding that in dismissing one case with prejudice, the court wrote that it appeared designed to harass defendants.
A second man, 25-year-old Zachary Defazio, has filed a sworn declaration in Broward County, Florida, alleging he met Thompson through gay dating app Grindr in March 2021 at age 19, was given alcohol while underage, and was too intoxicated to consent during an October 2021 encounter.
Defazio's former attorneys at NeJame Law sent a June 2025 demand letter offering to resolve the matter confidentially for $7.5 million, and valued potential trial damages at no less than $15 million. The letter stated it was not an admission to any disputed fact.
Thompson remains hospitalized following a suicide attempt on Friday (Sept. 18), and his Luxor show was subsequently canceled.
"Mr. Thompson is currently recovering, surrounded by his family and those closest to him," his rep said. "His focus is on his health and recovery, and we ask that his privacy be respected at this time."
