Jeremy Piven Accused Of Sexual Assault, Actor Denies Claims

LOS ANGELES, CA — Actor Jeremy Piven has denied allegations by an actress that he sexually assaulted her twice. In a series of tweets posted Monday, actress Ariane Bellamar accused Piven of two specific instances of sexual assault. One incident took place on the set of the HBO series "Entourage," she said, while the other allegedly occurred at the Playboy Mansion.

Bellamar said she was taken to Piven's trailer by a woman she presumed to be a production assistant to talk about her "career" and "potential." Once she got there, Piven "cornered" her in his trailer and "forcefully fondled" her, she said.

When she tried to leave, Piven grabbed her behind, looked at himself in the mirror and "said what a 'beautiful couple'" they would make, according to Bellamar.

“I unequivocally deny the appalling allegations being peddled about me. It did not happen,” Piven responded, in a statement to Deadline Tuesday night. “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.”

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After Piven's denial, Bellamar suggested telephone companies would have records of "abusive, explicit" text messages Piven allegedly sent her. She also said HBO may have a recording of the two together.

In addition to her guest role on "Entourage," Bellamar is best known for her role in the reality television series "Beverly Hills Nannies." She is also a former Playboy Playmate and model with Trump Model Management, she said.

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

An Evanston native and the son of Piven Theater and Workshop founders Joyce and Byrne Piven, Piven won three Emmys and a Golden Globe Award for his portrayal of Ari Gold on the HBO series "Entourage," which ended its run in 2011. The character was partly based on Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel's Hollywood super-agent brother Ari. More recently, Piven starred in "Mr. Selfridge" on PBS and current stars in "Wisdom of the Crowd" on CBS.

HBO and CBS issued statements about the accusations Tuesday.

“We are aware of the media reports and are looking into the matter,” CBS said.

“Today, via the press reports, is the first we are hearing about Ariane Bellamar’s allegations concerning Jeremy Piven,” HBO's statement said. “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.”

Wednesday, another woman took to Twitter to accuse Piven of harassment. Journalist Shelby Welinder described him as "blatent with his disgusting behavior."

I wasn't just sexually harassed behind closed doors with #JeremyPiven. He was blatant with his disgusting behavior. pic.twitter.com/BtP2ppTVY1
— Shelby (@ShelbyWelinder) November 1, 2017

Welinder and an alleged witness to the incident have not responded to interview requests.

In another Wednesday social media post, Piven was also accused of "predatory behavior" by actress Cassidy Freeman, who currently stars on the Netflix show "Longmire."

"I know what you did and attempted to do to me when I was far too young. THAT I know. And you know it too. Unless there were so many of us, that you can’t remember. Predatory behavior is a chronic way for you to seek power," Freeman wrote in an Instagram post. "Do you feel powerful? With your lawyers and your networks and your die hard man-fans who call your victims bimbos? Or do you know, in your rotten gut, that you will have to lie for the rest of your life? I hope from now on, you keep it in your pants and you never get to do it again."

On Thursday, CBS cancelled said it cancelled plans to air an interview with Piven taped money for the "Late Show" with Steven Colbert. The network said because the show would be unable to address what it described as "recent developments," it would cut the segment from Friday's show. Colbert's interview with Piven was taped Monday, a day before Bellamar published her accusations.

The accusations against Piven add to a growing number of allegations of sexual misconduct against powerful men in the film and television world, beginning with the downfall of disgraced Miramax founder Harvey Weinstein last month. This week, after Kevin Spacey was alleged to have propositioned a then-14-year-old actor in 1986, Netflix put a stop to production of the sixth season of "House of Cards." Wednesday, director and producer Brett Ratner was accused of sexual assault and harassment.

_{Top photo: Jeremy Piven arrives at the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday, Sept. 17, 2017, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. | Photo by Richard Shotwell | Invision | Associated Press}