Carrot Top may have transcended his status as a go-to pop-culture punching bag by virtue of career success and positive attitude, but he can still play an indirect role in other entertainers’ viral moments. Case in point: Kathy Griffin’s Oct. 20 topless Instagram post, which became a pre-Halloween meme due to her uncanny resemblance to Carrot Top when photographed from behind.
Carrot Top tweeted his approval (“Brilliant!!”) and shot a parody clip, with a backyard pool substituting for Griffin’s view of the Pacific Ocean. “I was trending for three days regarding that,” says the comedian. “So, my guys were like, ‘Let’s make a video, make a joke about it back.’”
Deflecting disrespect and going with the comic flow factor into Scott Thompson’s success as Carrot Top, prop comic extraordinaire. He’s currently observing his 16th year as a headliner at the Luxor, his 15th anniversary having taken place during the pandemic pause. While a nonstop barrage of visual jokes is his trademark, the stage show has evolved.
“I had a friend last week who came and said, ‘I don’t think you should be called a prop comic anymore,” says Thompson. “There’s still props in the shows, but there’s a lot more storytelling—it’s hard to describe—or even stand-up.”
The screen behind him that once showed the Carrot Top logo throughout the set is now used to complement his delivery with visual punchlines, often media-driven, for at least one-third to one-half of the show. One bit involves images from a Las Vegas Magazine shoot of Carrot Top in a Varvatos suit with his hair relaxed, his trademark curls straightened out.
“Whenever we have a real windy day, I always come onstage and say, ‘What a beautiful day. Look at the beautiful weather,’ and they show a clip of me where they put like 10 leaf blowers on me outside. It’s fun. I’m trying to smoke a cigarette, and then it cuts to, ‘My hair was straight this morning,’ then I put those pictures that you did with the straight hair, and it kills. It always kills.”
Thompson’s prop jokes are often topical and may remain in the set as long as they continue to get laughs. A giant, translucent, impenetrable cell phone case that prevents tweeting may show up whenever Donald Trump trends. A clip of Norm Macdonald chiding Carrot Top’s infamous foray into film, Chairman of the Board, on Late Night With Conan O’ Brien made it to the screen after Macdonald’s passing, transformed into a self-deprecating tribute.
“There’s always props being built,” says Thompson. “There’s a shelf life, but I can always retool it and make it work.”
Thompson experimented with facial hair during his time away from the stage and sported a Van Dyke beard at shows as October gave way to November. He’s still easy to spot at a distance, still wears eyeliner that’s really stage makeup he applies in the morning, before the red carpets, keeping things rock ’n’ roll.
And he kills. He always kills.
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