Carrot Top extortion allegation echoes past Las Vegas cases, disputed claims

Longtime Strip headliner Carrot Top has alleged in recent court filings that a former opening act attempted to extort him using a sexually explicit recording.

The comedian, whose name is Scott Thompson, was hospitalized Friday after a suicide attempt at his Las Vegas home. His return to the stage — he has performed in residency at the Luxor since 2005 — remains uncertain.

Allegations of extortion are not without precedent in Las Vegas, as Sin City has seen its share of high-profile legal disputes involving celebrities, politicians, athletes and other public figures.

While some cases involved proven attempts to extort money by threatening to expose sexual allegations, explicit material or other alleged behavior, others involved disputed claims of blackmail, confidential settlements or allegations that were never prosecuted.

In Thompson’s case, his attorney alleged that musician Brian Evans sought $500,000 and threatened to place the explicit recording into a public court filing, where it could be obtained by the media if a settlement were not reached.

Evans denied threatening to release the recording in exchange for money and disputed the allegation that he attempted to extort Thompson.

Here is a look at some other prominent Las Vegas cases and how they played out:

René Angélil

René Angélil, the late husband and manager of Las Vegas headliner Celine Dion, became the target of an extortion case after a woman accused him of sexually assaulting her at the Imperial Palace in Las Vegas in 2000. Angélil denied the allegation.

Angélil initially paid Yun Kyeong Sung and her husband, Ae Ho Kwon, $2 million under a confidentiality agreement. Prosecutors later accused the couple of seeking millions more and threatening to publicly accuse Angélil of rape if he did not pay.

Sung was convicted of extortion and related charges in 2004, and Kwon was convicted the following year. Kwon was accused of trying to extort as much as $20 million from Angélil. Extortion charges against the couple were later thrown out by the Nevada Supreme Court, but justices upheld the couple’s convictions for soliciting a bribe.

Dana White

Dana White, president and CEO of the Las Vegas-based UFC, was identified in court proceedings as the victim of an extortion scheme involving a secretly recorded sexual encounter.

According to court records, the girlfriend of Ernesto Joshua Ramos, a Las Vegas exotic dancer, recorded a sexual encounter with White during a trip to Brazil. Ramos later demanded $200,000 from White in connection with the recording. White contacted authorities, and the FBI became involved.

Ramos pleaded guilty to federal extortion and served 366 days in prison. He later sued White, making White’s identity as the previously unnamed victim public. White denied allegations that Ramos made in the subsequent litigation.

Nick Carter

Backstreet Boys singer and Las Vegas resident Nick Carter accused women who made sexual assault allegations against him of participating in a conspiracy to defame and extort him.

Shannon Ruth sued Carter in Clark County, alleging he raped her on a tour bus after a 2001 Backstreet Boys concert in Tacoma, Washington, when she was 17. Carter denied the allegation and filed a counterclaim alleging Ruth had been recruited as part of the conspiracy.

Ruth’s attorneys denied Carter’s allegations and sought to have his counterclaim dismissed. In 2025, the Nevada Supreme Court allowed Carter’s counterclaim to move forward at that stage of the litigation. Carter also has pursued claims against other women who accused him of sexual misconduct.

Shannon Sharpe

Pro Football Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe characterized a $50 million sexual assault lawsuit filed against him in Las Vegas as an attempted shakedown and blackmail.

The woman who sued Sharpe alleged he sexually assaulted her multiple times after the two previously had a consensual relationship. Sharpe denied the allegations. His attorney, Lanny Davis, described the lawsuit as an attempt to shake down Sharpe for millions and called it an “egregious blackmail attempt.”

The lawsuit was settled in July 2025. No details about the settlement were released.

The lawsuit was filed in Clark County, and Sharpe maintained a residence in Las Vegas.

Steve Sisolak

Then-Clark County Commissioner Steve Sisolak went to Las Vegas police in 2012 amid allegations that his former girlfriend and people representing her had attempted to obtain millions of dollars from him.

Former Henderson Councilwoman Kathleen Vermillion had accused Sisolak in a lawsuit of having an inappropriate relationship with her teenage daughter. Sisolak denied the allegation. Vermillion later recanted allegations concerning her daughter.

Metro investigated an alleged extortion plot against Sisolak and raided the office of a representative for Vermillion. The representative was not charged, and prosecutors did not ultimately file an extortion case against Vermillion.

John Ensign

Former Nevada U.S. Sen. John Ensign’s affair with campaign treasurer Cindy Hampton led to allegations involving money, employment and demands from her husband, Doug Hampton, who had been Ensign’s senior aide and longtime friend.

Ensign admitted in 2009 that he had an affair with Cindy Hampton. The affair was repeatedly discovered and restarted before ending in 2008. Ensign also gave Cindy Hampton money during the affair, including money for Las Vegas hotel rooms, according to a Senate Ethics Committee investigation.

Ensign’s parents later gave the Hampton family $96,000, and Ensign helped Doug Hampton seek lobbying work after the Hamptons left his staff. People close to Ensign characterized financial demands from Doug Hampton as attempted extortion, but Hampton was not charged with extortion. Federal authorities investigated Ensign’s conduct and closed their investigation without charges; Ensign resigned from the Senate in 2011 amid the Senate ethics investigation.

Kevin Hart

Comedian Kevin Hart became involved in an alleged extortion case after he was secretly recorded during a sexual encounter in a Las Vegas hotel room in 2017.

Prosecutors accused Hart’s longtime friend Jonathan “J.T.” Jackson of attempting to use the recording to obtain money from Hart. Jackson was charged with attempted extortion and extortion by threatening letter.

The case later changed significantly. Prosecutors dropped the extortion charge after saying evidence undermined that count, and the remaining charges against Jackson were eventually dismissed. Jackson denied attempting to extort Hart.

Garth Brooks

Country superstar and longtime Las Vegas headliner Garth Brooks accused a former hair and makeup artist of attempting to extort him before she publicly accused him of rape and other sexual misconduct.

The woman alleged in a 2024 lawsuit that Brooks raped her in a Los Angeles hotel room in 2019 and committed other sexual misconduct. Brooks denied the allegations. Before her lawsuit became public, Brooks filed his own case under the name “John Doe,” alleging that the woman threatened to publicly accuse him of sexual misconduct unless he paid her millions of dollars.

The woman disputed Brooks’ characterization of the dispute. Brooks has extensive Las Vegas ties, including a multiyear residency at Encore Theater at Wynn Las Vegas beginning in 2009 and his later “Garth Brooks/Plus ONE” residency at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace.

Cristiano Ronaldo

Soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo’s Las Vegas sexual assault case involved a confidential financial settlement and competing claims about whether the allegations amounted to an attempt to obtain money from him.

Kathryn Mayorga accused Ronaldo of raping her in a Las Vegas hotel room in 2009. Ronaldo denied rape and said the encounter was consensual. His representatives reached an agreement with Mayorga in 2010 under which she received $375,000 and agreed to confidentiality.

Mayorga later sued Ronaldo in an attempt to invalidate the settlement. Her lawsuit alleged that Ronaldo’s representatives threatened to characterize her sexual assault accusation as an attempt to extort money. Ronaldo’s attorneys denied wrongdoing.

The federal lawsuit was dismissed in 2022 after a judge found that Mayorga’s attorney had improperly relied on hacked and stolen privileged documents. Longtime Las Vegas attorney Leslie Stovall was later disbarred.

There was no criminal finding that Mayorga attempted to extort Ronaldo. The extortion issue instead arose as part of the competing allegations surrounding the confidential settlement and subsequent litigation.

If you’re thinking about suicide, or are worried about a friend or loved one, help is available 24/7 by calling or texting the Lifeline network at 988. Live chat is available at 988lifeline.org. Additionally, the Crisis Text Line is a free, national service available 24/7. Text HOME to 741741.

This content was produced with the help of artificial intelligence and edited by Review-Journal staff.