Jim Carrey was sued Monday in the death of on-and-off girlfriend Cathriona White, who committed suicide in September 2015. The civil suit was brought by Mark Burton, who was married to White at the time of her death.

Carrey is accused in the civil lawsuit of obtaining controlled substances under a fake name, giving them to White and then after her suicide taking “steps to conceal and obfuscate his involvement and culpability in Ms. White’s death.”

“We will also be requesting that the Los Angeles DA’s office launch an investigation into Jim Carrey’s role in the death of Ms. White,” Burton’s attorney Michael Avenatti said Monday on Twitter.

On Monday evening, Carrey called the lawsuit “a terrible shame.”


“It would be easy for me to get in a back room with this man’s lawyer and make this go away,” the actor said in a statement, “but there are some moments in life when you have to stand up and defend your honor against the evil in this world.”

Referring to White as “the woman I loved,” he said he wouldn’t tolerate what he called an attempt to exploit them both.

White, a makeup artist, and Burton were married in January 2013 at a wedding chapel in Las Vegas, according to a marriage certificate obtained by several media outlets. He was her legal next of kin, the medical examiner’s office told Us Weekly just after she died at age 30.

White appeared to be separated from Burton while she was dating Carrey and had plans to file for divorce in December, a source in the medical examiner’s office told the Hollywood Reporter, which said it confirmed that information with a second source.


Bottles of pills found near White’s body bore the name “Arthur King,” an alias used by Carrey for prescriptions, the lawsuit said in alleging a violation of the Drug Dealer Liability Act.

According to White’s autopsy report, obtained by People, she had propranolol, Ambien, oxycodone and oxymorphone in her system when she died. She also had a text on her phone from Carrey asking about missing drugs, the autopsy report said.

White left a suicide note addressed to Carrey that read, in part, “I’ve spent 3 days now in disbelief that you’re not here. I can go on brokenhearted and try to put the pieces back. I could, I just don’t have the will this time … I’m sorry you felt I wasn’t there for you.”

The two had reportedly been dating for two or three years, and although in the wake of her suicide White was initially described as Carrey’s “ex,” a Gossip Cop source said they were never broken up but merely taking a “breather” when she died.


“Cat’s troubles were born long before I met her and sadly her tragic end was beyond anyone’s control,” Carrey’s statement continued. “I really hope that some day soon people will stop trying to profit from this and let her rest in peace.”

Burton, who lives in Oregon, is seeking unspecified damages.

Follow Christie D’Zurilla on Twitter @theCDZ.

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UPDATES:

7:15 p.m.: This article was updated with a statement from Jim Carrey.

This article was originally published at 1:15 p.m.