Christian Slater is being sued by his own dad for defamation of character, claiming that the "Mr. Robot" actor "ruined" his acting career by stating that his father is "suffering from manic-depressive schizophrenia" during an interview in December, according to Entertainment Tonight.
Thomas Knight Slater, who also goes by the name of Michael Hawkins, filed legal papers in a Los Angeles court on Wednesday, accusing his son and ex-wife, Mary Jo Slater, of slander, libel and defamation.
The lawsuit cited a National Enquirer article, which sourced Christian Slater's interview from July with Interview magazine, during which Christian Slater opened up about his father's mental illness and their reconciliation. The suit claims the comments Christian Slater made in the interview "ruined his career in the stage, motion picture, and television industry, which he has never recovered from."
"He's a manic-depressive schizophrenic. He's always had trouble - he was a fantastic actor and extraordinarily charismatic and very, very good looking, but he had a really difficult time working with directors, collaborating with people. And that made his life very challenging," Christian Slater said in the interview.
"In the last few months my father actually reached out to me and wanted to reconcile and reconnect," he shared at the time. "I was very grateful to be able to communicate with him. From a tumultuous, back-and-forth relationship, we were able to begin to build a better bridge for the both of us."
Hawkins, the 80-year-old actor who has featured in shows like "As the World Turns" and "Ryan's Hope" as well as films such as "Trucker's Woman" and "The Amityville Horror," also alleges that the "attack on his profession" got him "blacklisted in the show business community," and that "any hope of ever acting again has been dashed into pieces," People reported.
The suit, which is seeking $20 million as compensation, adds that Christian Slater and his mother do not have the "medical credential or the ability to diagnose manic-depressive schizophrenia, and even if that were the case, they would be bound not to disclose it to the general public."
