Update: Piven “unequivocally” denied the allegations in a statement issued Tuesday.
“I unequivocally deny the appalling allegations being peddled about me. It did not happen,” Piven said in a statement to Deadline. “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.”
HBO also issued a statement:
“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.”
CBS, home to Piven’s TV show Wisdom of the Crowd, said it was “looking into the matter.”
Original story below:
Actor Jeremy Piven has become the latest Hollywood figure to be accused of sexual assault, after reality television star Ariane Bellamar accused the actor of groping her on the set of a television show in a social media post Monday.
Bellamar, a reality TV star who has appeared in films including The Hangover Part III and Suicide Squad, took to Twitter Monday to accuse Piven of groping her inside his trailer on the set of the popular HBO series Entourage, on which Piven starred as Hollywood super-agent Ari Gold.
In a series of tweets, the actress said Piven once “cornered” her in his trailer and grabbed her breasts, and further accused the actor of groping her on at least two occasions.
Bellamar also alleged that Piven had sent her “abusive, explicit” text messages.
Piven currently stars in the CBS crime drama Wisdom of the Crowd, about a tech executive who launches a platform for crowdsourcing criminal investigations.
Piven has not yet responded to the allegations.
The former Entourage favorite is the latest actor to be accused of sexual misconduct in the ongoing scandal surrounding Hollywood’s mistreatment of women.
On Sunday, actor Anthony Rapp accused Kevin Spacey of making a sexual advance on him at a party when Rapp was just 14 years old. Spacey apologized to Rapp but said he did not remember the alleged incident. In the same statement, Spacey said he had decided to “live as a gay man.”
On Monday, actor Andy Dick confirmed to the Hollywood Reporter that he had been fired from his role in an upcoming independent film following sexual harassment allegations from multiple women on set.
The ongoing sexual misconduct scandal in Hollywood — first broken open by a New York Times bombshell exposé on movie mogul Harvey Weinstein — has also ensnared figures in television, fashion, and journalism. Other figures who have been accused of sexual misconduct include MSNBC journalist and author Mark Halperin, New Republic editor Leon Wieseltier, celebrity photographer Terry Richardson, directors David O. Russell and Oliver Stone, and actor Ben Affleck.
Follow Daniel Nussbaum on Twitter: @dznussbaum