Jeremy Piven issued a statement on Tuesday to address the recent sexual assault accusations against him. His response follows CBS saying that the network is looking into the situation.
“I unequivocally deny the appalling allegations being peddled about me,” the “Wisdom of the Crowd” actor said. “It did not happen. 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.”
Actress Ariane Bellamar, a former Playboy Playmate whose TV credits include appearing on the ABC Family unscripted series “Beverly Hills Nannies,” tweeted Monday that Piven groped her years ago on the set of “Entourage” and at the Playboy Mansion.
“‘Member when you cornered me in your trailer on the #Entourage set?” she tweeted at Piven. “‘Member grabbing my boobies on the [couch] without asking??”
She later added that “Piven, on two occasions, cornered and forcefully fondled my breasts and bum. Once at the mansion and once on set.”
It is unclear whether Bellamar, who did not appear on “Entourage,” is accusing Piven of groping her on set during production of the HBO series that ended its eight-season run in September 2011, or during the 2015 feature film.
Piven currently plays Jeffrey Tanner on “Wisdom of the Crowd,” a co-production from CBS Television Studios and Universal Television which debuted its first season earlier this month.
“We are aware of the media reports and are looking into the matter,” a CBS representative said in a statement on Tuesday.
This follows recent accusations of sexual assault and misconduct against such figures as Harvey Weinstein, James Toback and Kevin Spacey.
Netflix announced this week that “House of Cards” will end following its sixth season in light of actor Anthony Rapp accusing Spacey of a decades-ago sexual advance. Production of “House of Cards” Season 6 has been suspended indefinitely.
Bellamar’s tweets are below.
Hey @jeremypiven! ‘Member when you cornered me in your trailer on the #Entourage set? ‘Member grabbing my boobies on the 🛋 without asking??
— Ariane Bellamar (@ArianeBellamar) October 30, 2017
‘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? #MeToo https://t.co/liD7irs0o0
— Ariane Bellamar (@ArianeBellamar) October 30, 2017
Jeremy Piven, on two occasions, cornered me & forcefully fondled my breasts & bum. Once at the mansion & once on set. #MeToo @AriMelber @CNN https://t.co/liD7irs0o0
— Ariane Bellamar (@ArianeBellamar) October 30, 2017
And, don’t try to deny it, sir. @HBO has us on 📼 together, & I’m sure @sprint has electronic back-ups of your abusive, explicit texts.#MeToo https://t.co/liD7irs0o0
— Ariane Bellamar (@ArianeBellamar) October 30, 2017