Jim Carrey once owned Hollywood. The actor who originally came to prominence portraying broad slapstick characters on the sketch show “In Living Color” and talking through his derriere in “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective” could write his own ticket.
A $20-million paycheck for 1996’s “The Cable Guy” made him the highest-paid comedic actor in film and helped provided a springboard to dramatic work, in which he also excelled.
The recent lawsuit isn’t the only reason to worry about what’s going on with Carrey.
He worked with some of Hollywood’s most acclaimed directors in movies such as “The Truman Show,” “Man on the Moon,” “The Majestic,” and “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.” He balanced those dramatic turns with comedic performances that hit big at the box office, such as “Liar Liar,” “Bruce Almighty,” and “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas.”
Carrey, now 54, has seen his film career become decidedly rockier in the past decade, with few films resonating with either critics or audiences. But almost all Hollywood careers ebb and flow over the years — even with someone as talented as Carrey. That’s not necessarily cause for concern.
What’s most worrisome of late with Carrey is how often his personal life and public persona make headlines — and not in a good way.
Last week, Carrey was named in a wrongful death lawsuit related to the September 2015 suicide of his on-off girlfriend, Cathriona White. The suit claims Carrey used his “immense wealth and celebrity status” to procure the drugs White used to kill herself. It further contends the actor “took steps to conceal and obfuscate his involvement and culpability” in the death.
[lz_ndn video=31429703]
The suit was filed by White’s estranged husband Mark Burton, whose legal complaint also claims White contracted three sexually transmitted diseases from the actor. Carrey and his attorney are vigorously fighting the suit, calling it an “opportunist’s transparent shakedown lawsuit.”
They claim Burton’s marriage to White was a “sham” agreement to get White a green card (she was an Irish citizen).
Carrey has indicated he won’t be settling the case. He released a statement that said, in part: “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.”
Rich and famous people get sued all the time, and sometimes the suits are frivolous, sometimes not. That will be up to a judge to decide — and, if the case goes forward, possibly a civil jury.
But the recent lawsuit isn’t the only reason to worry about what’s going on with Carrey. He’s openly acknowledged that he battles depression, and as his career has waned in recent years, his behavior has become more chaotic.
Carrey was in a five-year relationship with Jenny McCarthy, who has come under fire for her promotion of anti-vaccination views, which are opposed by the majority of scientific research. While Carrey has claimed he’s not “anti-vax,” he went on a lengthy Twitter rant in July 2015 opposing the passage of a California bill removing most exemptions for vaccinations in public schools.
A couple of years earlier, Carrey publicly aired his support for gun control, creating a song and video called “Cold Dead Hand” that mocked gun owners. Critics found the stance rather hypocritical, given that the actor had recently appeared in the ultra-violent sequel “Kick-Ass 2.”
[lz_ndn video=31416315]
Carrey noted he filmed the role a month before the Sandy Hook shootings. He declined to promote the movie, saying that in the wake of that incident, “in all good conscience I cannot support that level of violence.”
The statement was baffling to Mark Millar, creator of the “Kick-Ass” character. Millar wrote on his blog: “Like Jim, I’m horrified by real-life violence … but Kick-Ass 2 isn’t a documentary … Our job as storytellers is to entertain, and our toolbox can’t be sabotaged by curtailing the use of guns in an action movie.”
But Carrey’s behavior isn’t worrisome just because of a penchant for mixed messages. His Twitter feed can go from perfectly rational one day to, well, anything but. Just one case in point:
[lz_third_party includes=https://twitter.com/jimcarrey/status/13084018043 align=center width=530]
[lz_third_party includes=https://twitter.com/jimcarrey/status/13084380257 align=center width=530]
If William Shakespeare were alive today, he’d be the first to point out that Carrey doth protest too much on that score. (Although if Shakespeare were alive today, he’d be 452 years old, so he probably wouldn’t care much what some actor is babbling about.)
On top of all that, there’s one of the creepiest videos of all time, Carrey’s 2011 mash note to Emma Stone. The actor, then 49, posted a video telling Stone, then 23, that she was “all the way beautiful” and that if he were “a lot younger, I would marry you, and we would have chubby little freckled-faced kids.”
Carrey’s defenders said the video was meant to be satirical, but on its face the video certainly doesn’t play that way. It’s either the most impressively deadpan parody of a middle-aged guy lusting after a woman young enough to be his daughter or an actual video of a middle-aged guy lusting after a woman young enough to be his daughter. Carrey’s track record doesn’t make it an easy call.
All of which puts Carrey right up there with Randy Quaid on the “oh no, what did he post today” meter — but unlike Quaid, Carrey can still book real gigs. Well, some real gigs.
According to Carrey’s main IMDb page, he has roles in two small dramas awaiting release: “The Bad Batch” and “True Crimes.” But it’s also notable that IMDb currently doesn’t show any projects currently filming or in development beyond those two.
Here’s what’s hard to know: Is Carrey just eccentric? Does he have serious mental or emotional issues? Or is he just participating in some sort of long-form performance art, an homage to Andy Kaufman, whom Carrey portrayed in “Man on the Moon”? For now, we just have to wait and see.
Join the Discussion
Comments are currently closed.