Why Was Jeremy Piven Canceled And Is He Really Making A Comeback?

Warning: Contains descriptions of sexual assault

Comedian and "Entourage" star Jeremy Piven had built a solid resume of film, television, and voiceover appearances even before landing that breakout role in 2004. His next series, "Mr. Selfridge," aired from 2013 until 2016, and Piven's star appeared to be at its crest.

But a series of allegations of sexual assault and misconduct against Piven surfaced throughout 2017 and 2018, derailing his entertainment career. That appears to have been a temporary setback, however, as he currently stars in the basketball biopic "Sweetwater," which was released in theaters in April and is now streaming on multiple outlets. The movie is about Nat Clifton, who was the first Black player to sign a contract with an NBA team, making his debut with the New York Knicks in 1950. Piven plays Joe Lapchick, who coached the Knicks when Clifton made his historic entry into the league. 

Several women have made public accusations against Piven, although he has denied all of their claims. But despite the allegations, Piven's career appears to be back on track. Aside from "Sweetwater," he has four other projects in various stages of production listed on his IMDb page. One of them is another basketball-themed production, "All-Star Weekend," and will star Piven alongside director Jamie Foxx.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

An aspiring actor at the time of the alleged incident, Anastasia Taneie told BuzzFeed News that Jeremy Piven pushed her against a wall and groped her on the set of "Entourage" in 2009. "I was scared at the time nobody was going to believe me," she said. "I didn't want to make a scene. I just wanted to go home. It was the most horrible thing I've ever experienced." Another woman, Amy Meador, claimed Piven assaulted her at her home in Laurel Canyon in 1995. They had met previously at a coffee shop in West Hollywood and exchanged numbers, and he later arrived at her house unannounced. After they sat and watched TV for a while, he attacked her. "It was just the harder I fought, the harder he got," she said. She added she was able to fight him off, and he took her phone to the bathroom for about 20 minutes before eventually leaving.

In 2017, People reported that former Playboy playmate Ariane Bellamar had accused Piven of groping her at the Playboy mansion and on the set of "Entourage" and later sent her text messages that she described as explicit and abusive. Around the same time, "Longmire" star Cassidy Freeman took to Instagram to call out Piven for his purported behavior toward her and other women. "I know what you did and attempted to do to me when I was far too young," she wrote in part.

That same year, advertising executive Tiffany Bacon Scourby reported to People a disturbing encounter at the Trump International Hotel in New York, where Jeremy Piven arranged a meeting in his room before exposing himself to and assaulting her. "We were talking for about five minutes and he said he was waiting for his [publicist] to come with us," she said. Suddenly, Piven jumped on her, as she further related. "I tried to push him off and he forced me to the ground," Scourby said. She added that she ran from the room, took a cab back to her own hotel, and then rode the train home to Washington, D.C.

Piven later denied the allegations made by Scourby in a statement on Twitter. He began by simply stating that Scourby's accusations were completely fabricated and added, "I would never force myself on a woman. Period." He also offered to take a polygraph to support his claims of innocence, a test his lawyers claim he has since passed. Piven then went on to question the motivations of his accusers while offering vague lip service to victims of sexual assault. "As a human being I feel compassion for the victims of such acts," he wrote, "but I am perplexed as to the misdirection of anger with false accusations against me and hope they do not detract from the stories that need to be heard." 

Amy Meador is not pleased that Jeremy Piven is making a quick return to show business. She told Rolling Stone, "He blew the whole thing off. He thought, 'I'm going to ride it out,' and kept his head down for a little while until the storm had cleared and then came back." Meador said that she still suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder from the attack and watching the trailer for "Sweetwater" made her physically ill. The film was released in theaters on April 14 and is currently available for rental or purchase via Amazon Prime and Apple TV+.

At least one of Piven's other projects has endured delays unrelated to his conduct. "All-Star Weekend" has attracted controversy for the casting of Robert Downey Jr. as a Mexican man, echoing the backlash he received for wearing blackface in "Tropic Thunder."

Hollywood's willingness to welcome Piven back could be a signal that the momentum of the "me too" movement may be waning. Piven has even suggested rebooting "Entourage" for the modern era, with his brash and sometimes misogynistic character Ari Gold and his cohorts finding their way through a more evolved Hollywood culture. "We're definitely living in different times," he told The Sun. "What's really fun and exciting about that is how would this group navigate those times? And I think that in itself is a great comedic premise."