Jeremy Piven has come out and defended himself against the rumors of why he walked away from his Broadway gig, sayig it was because he "was fighting mercury toxicity" from eating a whale of amount of sushi.
Producers of ''Speed-the-Plow'' have filed a grievance against the Entourage star with the Actors' Equity union, even though Piven claims the fish poisoning "brought him to his knees."
Despite excellent reviews and being under contract, the actor departed the show in mid-December blaming high levels of mercury in his bloodstream.
The play's writer, David Mamet, acidly remarked at the time, "My understanding is that he is leaving show business to pursue a career as a thermometer."
When producers of the hit show questioned the actor's medical crisis, Piven's spokeswoman issued a statement saying, ''The claims by the producers ... are absurd and outrageous. Mr. Piven's serious medical condition has been well documented by multiple physicians.''
The statement went on to say that "Mr. Piven followed his doctors' advice, although his forced withdrawal from the show was an enormous personal disappointment since it was a life-long dream to perform on Broadway."
William H. Macy stepped into the role just last week. Since December, understudies have filed in but ticket sales for the performances have not been as good as when Piven had the part.
