Actor Jeremy Piven broke down in tears on Wednesday while filming his new TV series in the wake of allegations that he sexually harassed or assaulted four women, a source told the Daily Mail.
The insider said Piven has been an ’emotional wreck’ on the Los Angeles set. In the middle of filming scenes of his CBS series Wisdom of the Crowd, the actor was said to have burst into tears and walked off set in front of a shocked production team.
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As allegations continued to swirl surrounding the former Entourage actor, production of the new crime drama has continued, though the source said he has appeared “jittery” and “stressed.”
Piven was accused on Twitter of sexual harassment by actress and model Ariane Bellamar at the end of October. The former Playboy Playmate alleged that the actor “fondled my breasts & bum” on two occasions, once in his trailed on the set of Entourage and another time at the Playboy mansion.
Soon after, Longmire actress Cassidy Freeman wrote on Instagram that Piven had acted inappropriately toward her in the past.
“Predatory behavior is a chronic way for you to seek power,” Freeman wrote. “And whether or not her accusations are true, the TRUTH is I know you. 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.”
Advertising executive Tiffany Bacon Scourby also came forward, claiming that Piven forced her to engage in a sexual act at the Trump International Hotel & Tower in New York City in 2003.
“He jumped on top of me,” Scourby recalled to PEOPLE. “I tried to push him off and he forced me to the ground.” She said the actor exposed his genitals and rubbed against her until he ejaculated on her white turtleneck.
A fourth woman, adult entertainer Isis Taylor, accused the actor in 2013 of sexually harassing her at an after-party for the 2011 NBA All-Star game.
Taylor claims she met Piven at the party and when they went outside to smoke, he exposed himself to her. “Look, all this can be yours,” Piven said, according to Taylor.
Piven has denied the accusations made against him and issued a lengthy statement on Twitter last week in response to the claims. The actor wrote that he would “never” force himself on a woman. He called the claims “absolutely false and completely fabricated,” offering to take a polygraph test to “support” his innocence.
“What am I not able to do is speculate as to the motivations of these women, as a human being I feel compassion for the victims of such acts, 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 should be heard,” he added.
As Piven continues to film episodes of Wisdom of the Crowd, CBS issued a statement to say it is looking into the allegations made against the star.
According to the Daily Mail insider, the show still has several weeks of filming left to complete the 13-episode season order, CBS executives have not indicated that production would be halted. The source said despite the network’s continuation of production, the crew is getting nervous that the new drama is on the chopping block and “Jeremy’s reaction did not help matters.”
