Piven denies allegations
Actor praises ‘ courage’ of other victims
Actor Jeremy Piven is “unequivocally” denying allegations suggesting he engaged in sexual misconduct with an extra on the set of Entourage.
Reality star- turned- actress Ariane Bellamar came forward with her claims in a series of Twitter posts on Monday, accusing Piven of groping her on two separate occasions several years ago after she landed a small, uncredited role on the hit show.
She recalled the reported incidents as part of the # MeToo social media campaign to raise awareness about sexual harassment and assault, but Piven insists there is no truth to Bellamar’s story.
“I unequivocally deny the appalling allegations being peddled about me. It did not happen,” he says in a statement issued to Deadline. com.
He also goes on to praise those who have recently gone public with their experiences of inappropriate sexual behaviour over the past month: “It takes a great deal of courage for victims to come forward with their histories, and my hope is that the allegations about me, that didn’t happen, do not detract from stories that should be heard,” he says.
In her original tweets, Bellamar alleged Piven first assaulted her on the set of the comedy series, which ran from 2004 to 2011.
“Hey @ jeremypiven! ’ Member when you cornered me in your trailer on the # Entourage set?,” she tweeted. “’ Member grabbing my boobies on the ( couch) without asking??”
Bellamar then accused him of displaying similar behaviour when they met again at a party at the Playboy Mansion in California.
After the posts, executives at CBS, the U. S. network that airs Piven’s new show Wisdom of the Crowd, said they were looking into the claims.
“We are aware of the media reports and are looking into the matter,” a CBS spokesperson said Tuesday.
Executives at HBO, which aired Entourage, also said: “Today, via the press reports, is the first we are hearing about Ariane Bellamar’s allegations concerning Jeremy Piven. Everyone at HBO and our productions is aware that zero tolerance for sexual harassment is our policy. Anyone experiencing an unsafe working environment has several avenues for making complaints that we take very seriously.”
Piven is the latest star to face scrutiny over allegations from his past in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal, which blew up in early October after multiple women came forward with stories of sexual misconduct at the hands of the disgraced producer.
Kevin Spacey has also found himself under attack since Sunday, after actor Anthony Rapp claimed the Oscar winner had sexually harassed him three decades ago, when Rapp was 14 years old. Spacey apologized for the reported drunken incident via Twitter, but insisted he couldn’t recall the encounter. — WENN