Jeremy Piven's SushiGate continues

January 20, 2009 by Lance Carter

A day after producers of the Broadway revival of “Speed-the-Plow” filed a grievance with the Actor’s Equity union about Jeremy Piven’s abrupt departure from the show, his rep called the complaint “absurd and outrageous.”

Piven, who apparently has been eating sushi almost nonstop for 20 years, dropped out of the show because of a high mercury count, prompting playwright David Mamet to quip that Piven is pursuing a new career “as a thermometer.”

“Mr. Piven’s serious medical condition has been well documented by multiple physicians,” his rep says. “He withdrew from the play due to medical necessity on the advice of his doctors, after he was hospitalized and warned by his physicians that enforced rest was necessary in order to avoid serious medical problems, including a heart attack.”

His rep says that Piven was willing to be examined by doctors selected by the show’s producers, but the producers didn’t take advantage of his offer.

“It is ironic that the producers have filed a grievance against Mr. Piven, since if anyone has legal claims relating to this matter, it is Mr. Piven,” the rep adds. “Among other things, the production failed to pay his required compensation and he has been defamed in the media by their false accusations.”