Jeremy Piven has issued a statement in response to sexual harassment allegations leveled at him by former reality star Ariane Bellamar.
Earlier today, we reported on a number of disturbing Tweets posted by Bellamar, who guest-starred many years ago on an episode of Entourage.
Piven, of course, is best known for having portrayed super agent Ari Gold throughout the duration of that long-running comedy.
In her barrage of social media messages, Bellamar tagged Piven and reminded him of two alleged times in which he groped her private body parts.
“Hey @jeremypiven! ‘Member when you cornered me in your trailer on the #Entourage set? ‘Member grabbing my boobies on the without asking??” she wrote, later adding a pair of texts that read:
Member when I tried to leave; you grabbed me by the ass, looked at yourself in the mirror, & said what a ‘beautiful couple’ we made?
Jeremy Piven, on two occasions, cornered me & forcefully fondled my breasts & bum. Once at the mansion & once on set.
Bellamar – who appeared as herself on installments of Beverly Hills Nannies and The Millionaire Matchmaker and who has had bit parts in various movies – also referenced “explicit” texts she supposedly received from Piven.
In response to these allegations, the Emmy-winning actor has now said the following:
“I unequivocally deny the appalling allegations being peddled about me. It did not happen.”
Recognizing in general how difficult it is for victims of sexual harassment and assault to come forward, Piven concluded:
“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.”
Piven was in New York City on Tuesday to promote his awful CBS drama, Wisdom of the Crowd.
In a statement of its own, the network says it is “aware of the media reports and [is] looking into the matter.”
Over the past few weeks, the topic of sexual harassment in Hollywood has been especially prominent after countless women accused producer Harvey Weinstein of misconduct or even flat out rape.
The courage of the alleged victims who have called Weinstein out for his abhorrent behavior has inspired others to do the same.
Actor Anthony Rapp, for instance, says that Kevin Spacey attempted to sexually assault him at a party back in 1986, a charge Spacey did not deny.
Andy Dick, meanwhile, has been dropped from the independent feature film Raising Buchanan following accusations of sexual harassment and misconduct on set.
“I might have kissed somebody on the cheek to say goodbye and then licked them,” Dick said as a defense of his actions, adding:
“That’s my thing.”
Yeah. Maybe it shouldn’t be.
