Christian Slater’s father, Thomas Knight Slater, is suing his son for $20 million over claims he ruined his acting career with comments he made in an interview last year.
Thomas, who goes by the stage name of Michael Hawkins, sued his son and ex-wife Mary Jo Slater for defamation of character, libel, slander, intentional interference with prospective economic advantage, invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
In court documents obtained by People, the elder Slater claimed his son “ruined” his career for saying in an interview that he’s "suffering from manic-depressive schizophrenia.”
Hawkins wrote in the lawsuit that his son doesn’t have a “medical credential or the ability to diagnose manic-depressive schizophrenia” and his “publicly embarrassing disclosure” has cost him work as an actor. He even claimed he’s “blacklisted” from the industry because of it, TMZ reports.
Hawkins, 80, has been on shows like As the World Turns, Search for Tomorrow and Ryan’s Hope and films like Mommie Dearest and Amityville Horror.