Jim Carrey has branded a wrongful death case filed by the estranged husband of his ex-girlfriend a “heartless attempt” to exploit him.
The Hollywood actor hit out after it was revealed Mark Burton, who was married to Cathriona White, had filed a wrongful death lawsuit against him.
Vowing to fight the case, Carrey said in a statement: “I will not tolerate this heartless attempt to exploit me or the woman I loved.
“I really hope that some day soon people will stop trying to profit from this and let her rest in peace.”
He added: “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 honour against the evil in this world.”
In court papers filed on Monday in Los Angeles, Mark Burton claims Carrey, 54, illegally obtained and then distributed Ambien, Popranolol and Percocet to White.
Bottles containing all three pills were found in tragic White’s home in September last year, alongside her lifeless body.
According to Page Six, Burton alleges the Bruce Almighty star made “highly addictive and , in this case deadly” drugs available to White.
Burton accuses Carrey of obtaining the prescription medication under the name Arthur King.
The legal papers also allege the actor tried to cover up his role in White’s death by continuing to text her after she died.
Burton accuses Carrey of “pretending as though he had misplaced the Drugs and insinuating White may have taken them from Carrey without his knowledge.”
White’s suicide note included an apology to Carrey, who she had been dating on and off for three years.
“I don’t really know about burial or that sort of thing,” she wrote.
“You are my family so whatever you choose will be fine. Please forgive me. I’m just not for this world.”
Burton says Carrey portrayed himself as the “grieving, good guy” but “never paid a dime of funeral expenses.”
White’s autopsy, which was released in July, showed she died from a fatal overdose of prescription pills including Ambien, Popranolol and Percocet.
In the complaint Burton claims White passed away ‘on or around September 24’ of last year, with her body being found four days later.
Carrey was one of the pallbearers at White’s funeral in Ireland, which he attended with his daughter Jane.
Burton is asking Carrey to pay for all burial expenses, his lawyer’s fees, the costs of the suit and punitive damages.
He has requested a jury trial and is being represented by Michael Avenatti.
White married Burton on January 15, 2013 at the Heavenly Bliss Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas.
The wedding took place a few months after White’s father had died and she had apparently been unable to leave the United States for the funeral, as she did not have legal immigration status.
A wedding would have regularized her status.
White and Burton worked together on the short films The Online Gamer: Zombies and The Online Gamer: Wedding, with Burton working as a cameraman and White the makeup artist.
White had broken up with Carrey just a few days before she took her own life and wrote about the break-up in a note she left behind.
The report on her death shows White had told friends prior to her death that she was ‘madly in love’ with Carrey and that their relationship was a ‘rollercoaster’.