LOS ANGELES - Jim Carrey was sued Tuesday by his late former girlfriend's mother, who alleges the actor gave the woman prescription drugs that she used to commit suicide last fall.
Brigid Sweetman's Los Angeles Superior Court complaint alleges wrongful death and violation of the Drug Dealer Liability Act.
Sweetman, who seeks unspecified damages, was the mother of 30-year-old Cathriona White. White's estranged husband, Mark Burton, filed a similar lawsuit against Carrey in September that is pending trial in federal court.
Martin Singer, attorney for the 54-year-old Carrey, previously blasted Burton's lawsuit, and he issued a statement today saying Sweetman's lawsuit is another attempt to capitalize on White's death.
"It is understandable that a mother who has lost a daughter will look for someone to blame," Singer said. "But in directing her grief and rage at Jim Carrey and joining this ... attempt to capitalize on Cathriona's suicide, Mrs. Sweetman is heading down the same dark path" as Burton.
Sweetman alleges Carrey gave her daughter prescription drugs knowing that she was not equipped to ingest and manage highly addictive medication while not supervised by a doctor.
"The result that followed was predictable and foreseeable -- Ms. White overdosed on the drugs on or about September 24, 2015, and died," the suit states.
Carrey also allegedly gave White three sexually transmitted diseases without warning her that he was so afflicted before they agreed to have sex, the suit alleges.
After White developed symptoms suggesting she had an STD, he texted her that her condition was "normal when you shave or have vigorous sex," the suit states.
Concerned that White was about to find out what he did to her, he began pressuring her to sign an agreement releasing her from liability for anything that happened during their relationship, the suit states.
"He did so under the ruse it was needed for something wholly unrelated to what he [knew] she was about to discover," the suit states.
White learned in February 2013 that Carrey was responsible for giving her the STDs, the suit states.
Carrey issued a statement after Burton's lawsuit was filed, saying he 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," he said. "I really hope someday soon people will stop trying to profit from this and let her rest in peace."
