Extortion, sexual misconduct claims preceded Carrot Top’s hospitalization, filings show

The recent hospitalization of Scott Thompson, the comedian better known as Carrot Top, followed a flurry of filings in a Florida lawsuit, including claims that he sexually exploited another man and was being extorted by a singer.

A declaration in the Broward County case, purportedly from Zachary Defazio, 25, alleged on Sept. 14 that Thompson, 61, engaged in sexual conduct with him on Oct. 8, 2021, after Thompson got Defazio too drunk to consent. Defazio was 19 at the time, the court filing claims, and Thompson was 56.

A spokesperson for police in Winter Park, Florida — where the declaration alleged Defazio and Thompson met — said they did not immediately find any record of police reports pertaining to Thompson or the allegations against him.

Thompson’s attorney Ronnie Bitman did not directly respond to requests for comment. Bitman said in a recent court filing that his client is the victim of extortion by singer Brian Evans, a former opening act for Thompson who was recently described by a judge as a serial filer of apparently frivolous lawsuits.

The Defazio declaration was filed in an ongoing suit Evans is litigating against Thompson. Evans does not have a lawyer in the case and is representing himself.

Thompson was hospitalized Friday after a reported suicide attempt at his Las Vegas home, and his return to the stage remains uncertain. Jami Schlicher, his spokesperson, said in a statement Sunday that Thompson “is now awake, breathing on his own and continuing to improve.”

Claims against Carrot Top

The declaration alleged that Thompson contacted Defazio through the LGBTQ+ dating app Grindr in March 2021. The two met at a bar in Winter Park, north of Orlando, where Defazio claimed Thompson used his celebrity status to build trust, according to the declaration.

Thompson gave Defazio alcohol on his boats, in bars and at his Winter Park residence, the filing claimed. Then, in October 2021, the declaration alleged that Thompson “engaged in sexual conduct” with Defazio.

“I was 19. I could not consent in that condition,” the filing alleged. “I am a victim of Scott Thompson. That is not a theory. That is what he did.”

In a phone interview Monday, Evans said he filed Defazio’s declaration but that Defazio wrote the declaration.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal does not typically name alleged victims of sexual misconduct but is doing so in this case because the allegations were made in public civil court filings and have not been verified by law enforcement. The news organization was unable to reach Defazio for comment.

Mark NeJame, an attorney whose firm is listed on a letter attached to the Defazio declaration, did not respond to requests for comment.

In 2022 or 2023, Evans said in the complaint, Thompson texted him a video showing Thompson engaging in a sex act with a male who appeared to be much younger. Evans had not requested the video and deleted it immediately, but he later discovered it was saved in his iCloud account and notified representatives for Thompson, his complaint said.

Evans said Defazio told him that Defazio was not the young man seen in the video.

According to the lawsuit Evans filed Aug. 6, Evans and Thompson previously executed a settlement agreement.

Evans now seeks to void the agreement and asserts that he lacked the mental capacity to make it.

He claims the video caused him emotional distress and lasting psychological harm. He cites Defazio in the complaint as an example of what he characterizes as a pattern of behavior for Thompson.

Attorney for comedian alleges extortion

Bitman, the comedian’s attorney, filed emails from Evans in support of his extortion claims.

According to Bitman’s filing, Evans warned in a Sept. 3 email: “As the case now stands, I need to place the video already described in the operative complaint before the Court in order to meet and defeat pending motions and oppositions. The procedural vehicle for that is a motion asking the Court for leave to lodge a USB exhibit. I would prefer not to add that filing if the claims against Mr. Thompson can be resolved.”

Evans denied that he was making a threat or offering to trade silence for money, but he noted the possibility of press coverage and suggested that the case could be resolved for a $500,000 payment, the filing showed.

“This is not settlement communication,” Bitman wrote in his Sept. 3 filing. “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 prohibited by Florida and federal law.”

Evans said Monday the extortion claim was “completely ridiculous” and “totally not true.”

Florida U.S. District Judge David Leibowitz in August dismissed a separate suit filed by Evans, declared him a vexatious litigant and forbade him from filing documents in the federal Southern District of Florida without court permission.

A vexatious litigant is typically one who harasses people with meritless legal disputes.

“His serial, spurious filings have burdened this District for long enough,” wrote Leibowitz, adding that Evans’ suit before him appeared to be “designed to harass Defendants.”

The judge said Evans had filed 15 pro se cases in federal court since 2025, all of them apparently frivolous. A pro se case is one filed without an attorney. The judge also said a series of 11 meritless filings from Evans seemed to be generated by artificial intelligence.

Evans in an interview disputed the notion that he is a vexatious litigant.

Another settlement request

Defazio’s lawyers detailed claims of sexual exploitation, emotional harm and furnishing alcohol to an underage person in a 2025 letter to Thompson that was filed as an exhibit with the Defazio declaration.

Defazio’s attorneys offered to enter into a $7.5 million settlement agreement with Thompson that would include full mutual confidentiality, non-disparagement provisions, a waiver of all current and future claims, and no admission of liability on Thompson’s part, according to the letter filed with the declaration.

Another declaration filed in the suit, from a close friend of Evans’ named Mark “Andy” Biltz, alleged that Thompson approached Biltz backstage at the Luxor “in or about 2023,” grabbed Biltz’s groin, invited Biltz over to his house and asked Biltz if he could ditch Evans. Biltz’s declaration was filed Sept. 6.

Biltz said he protested that Evans was like his best friend.

“Would $5,000 also be your best friend?” Biltz said Thompson asked him.

“I said okay only to get him to stop, because it was before the show and I knew he was about to take the stage,” Biltz wrote. “No one else saw him grab me.”

The Metropolitan Police Department did not immediately respond to an inquiry about whether Biltz filed a police report.

Evans seeks to unwind settlement

Evans claims in the complaint that he suffered from PTSD, generalized anxiety disorder, major depressive disorder and insomnia as a result of the 2023 Maui wildfires. He also said the fires affected his judgment and “ability to evaluate complex legal consequences.”

A mental health provider said he lacked the mental capacity to sign any contract through at least Sept. 23, 2025, according to a letter filed in the case.

Evans also said in the filing that when he made the agreement, he relied on Thompson’s representations about professional assistance.

“The anticipated professional assistance did not materialize,” he wrote.

Evans filed settlement documents that he and Thompson purportedly signed in 2023 and 2024. According to a settlement agreement, Evans sent a recording to Thompson’s manager in September 2023 and demanded compensation related to a book project, the return of a signed photo of Charlie Chaplin that Evans had given Thompson, and that Thompson not publicly disparage Evans.

“The foregoing recording and subsequent correspondence from Evans includes references to an audio-visual recording of Thompson allegedly engaged in sexual activity that Thompson previously sent to Evans,” according to the agreement filed by Evans.

Evans signed a nondisclosure agreement in 2023, according to records he filed.

The singer has previously been accused of criminal conduct.

The Boston Globe reported that Evans was arrested as a young man by police in the early 1990s after impersonating “American Top 40” radio host Casey Kasem and charging plane tickets in Kasem’s name.

Evans said the impersonation was a drunken prank he performed with a friend and that he was placed on probation as a result.

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.

Contact Spencer Levering at slevering@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0253. Contact Noble Brigham at nbrigham@reviewjournal.com. Review-Journal staff writer Glenn Puit contributed to this report.