Jim Carrey is being sued in the US over the death of his former girlfriend, Cathriona White.
The Tipperary woman was found dead in her apartment in September of last year after overdosing on prescription drugs including Ambien, Propranolol and Percocet.
Cathriona White's estranged husband, Mark Burton has accused Carrey of illegally providing her with the drugs.
In papers filed in the Superior Court in Los Angeles, Burton claimed that Carrey used “his immense wealth and celebrity status to illegally obtain and distribute highly addictive and, in this case deadly, controlled substances”. It also claims that Carrey did this under the fake name, “Arthur King” which was the name printed on all three pill bottles found near her body.
The lawsuit claims that Carrey provided the drugs for: "his 30-year-old girlfriend Cathríona White” and “did so despite the fact he knew full well that Ms White (a) was ill-equipped to ingest and manage highly-addictive prescription drugs outside the care of a licensed physician; (b) prone to depression, and (c) had previously attempted to take her own life”.
The papers also say that Carrey had an “obsession with controlling and manipulating White” and that after her death, he tried to “conceal and obfuscate his involvement and culpability in Ms White’s untimely and tragic death,”.
Mr. Burton is suing for violation of the Drug Dealer Liability Act and wrongful death and is seeking statutory and punitive damages as well as funeral and burial expenses.
Carrey has released a statement through his publicist saying that the lawsuit is a "terrible shame" and he intends to defend himself.
“It would be easy for me to get in a back room with this man’s lawyer and make this go away, but there are some moments in life when you have to stand up and defend your honor against the evil in this world," Carrey said.
"I will not tolerate this heartless attempt to exploit me or the woman I loved. Cat’s troubles were born long before I met her and sadly her tragic end was beyond anyone’s control. I really hope that some day soon people will stop trying to profit from this and let her rest in peace.”
Via THR
