Jeremy Piven Arbitration Statement
March 25 2009, Published 12:33 p.m. ET
Jeremy Piven's controversial, abrupt exit from his role in Broadway's Speed-the-Plow is now coming to a head, as Actors' Equity and the play's producers gear up for an arbitration hearing in NYC on June 8 and 9.
The Entourage star left the show early, complaining of fatigue from mercury poisoning as a result of eating too much sushi.
And now, BroadwayWorld.com reports that Jeremy is speaking out with this official statement regarding the upcoming hearing, invoking Pres. Barack Obama's name in his defense:
"After Mr. Piven was diagnosed with a potentially toxic Mercury level, he reluctantly left SPEED-THE-PLOW at the insistence of his doctors, who warned him that enforced rest was required to avoid severe medical problems, including a heart attack. Mr. Piven is looking forward to testifying in Arbitration along with his doctors so that the truth comes out about the very health serious risks caused by Mercury exposure, which the Obama administration has recently described as the world's gravest chemical problem."
Want OK! each day? Sign up here!
It goes on, and on, from there, as the Piv aims to clear his name.