Everybody Loves Raymond alum Brad Garrett is sharing his support for friend and fellow comedian Carrot Top after the performer was hospitalized following an alleged suicide attempt.
“Oh my beautiful, talented friend @carrottoplive. We’re ALL thanking our lucky stars that you’re OK,” Garrett, 66, wrote via Instagram on Saturday, September 19, alongside a photo with Carrot Top, 61, and Ray Romano. “Please take this time to remember how appreciated and loved you are by so many.”
He continued, “We’re here for you. We need you OK. YOU need you OK. 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.”
Carrot Top (real name Scott Thompson) was hospitalized in Las Vegas on Friday, September 19, after a reported suicide attempt. (TMZ was the first to report the news.)
“Mr. Thompson is recovering in the hospital and is receiving the care and support he needs,” his rep, Jami Schlicher, told the outlet in a statement. “His family and those closest to him are deeply grateful for the concern, prayers and respectfully ask for privacy.”
TMZ also reported that Carrot Top’s comedy shows at the Luxor Casino on Friday and Saturday were both canceled amid the comedy star’s hospitalization. Us reached out to reps for Carrot Top, Luxor Casino and the Las Vegas Police Department for comment but have not heard back at the time of publication.
Carrot Top, who has not publicly addressed his hospitalization, has headlined a residency at Luxor since 2005.
“It came around by accident, believe it or not. I used to do a couple of weeks at a time at the MGM Grand, 17 years ago,” he recalled in a 2022 interview of performing in Vegas. “It was like a mini-residence. I would go there for two weeks, and then I would go on the road and do shows. Then, I would come back and do two weeks and then go back out on the road again.”
Soon after, Carrot Top was offered his own show.
“I wasn’t ready to be a resident headliner. I was reluctant,” Carrot Top confessed at the time. “I said, ‘Let’s do a year and see how it goes.’ It was horrible for that first year. I was living in the hotel. It was just not a good time. Things weren’t working. Shows were tough and I was losing my mind, and thinking I have to get out of this gig. Then, one day it was really weird, I just started having fun and it started to click.”
He continued, “I agreed to do another two years, making it a three-year deal, and at that point we really got into a groove. It wouldn’t make any sense for me not to be in Vegas. Then, I agreed to a five-year deal. Then, it became a 10-year deal, and now it’s been 16 years and counting. You’re in one place and people come to you, as opposed to you going to them. I’ve gotten used to the room.”
Carrot Top’s show was recently nominated for Best Comedian, Best Resident Performer/Headliner and Best Production Show at the Best of Las Vegas Awards.
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