'Entourage' Extra Accuses Jeremy Piven of Sexual Harassment
A fifth woman has come forward and accused "Entourage" star Jeremy Piven of sexual assault.
Back in 2009 a 23-year-old Anastasia Taenie served as an extra on HBO's hit series "Entourage," which was about a rising star and his four buddies who fared Tinseltown's fast-paced lifestyle with the help of power agent Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven). It was a role that earned the actor multiple Emmy and Golden Globe awards.
But behind the cameras in opportune moments, the actor allegedly overpowered and sexually harassed his female colleagues. Speaking to BuzzFeed, Taenie recalled an incident back in April of 2009 where Piven pinned her down in a dark hallway during a break from filming and groped her breasts and genitals.
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"I was scared at the time nobody was going to believe me. I didn't want to make a scene. I just wanted to go home," said Taenie as she recalled the encounter. "It was the most horrible thing I've ever experienced."
Piven only stopped when an assistant director walked by, Taenie revealed. After that incident, the actor asked for her to be removed, telling the assistant directors that she forced herself onto him.
Araceli Giacoman, who was another background actor present on that very day, told BuzzFeed that she remembers seeing Taenie following Piven down a hallway after the actor whispered something quietly to her. She was gone for a while, Giacoman recalled. And when she returned to the holding room she appeared "a little distraught" and "shaken."
Additionally, Jason Rupe, who helped cast extras on "Entourage" from 2009 to 2011, admitted that female actresses used to complain a lot about being verbally harassed on set. And that multiple women did not want to recur because of that.
Piven has denied all allegations. "Let me be absolutely clear, this simply did not happen," his statement issued to BuzzFeed reads. "I would never force myself on a woman. I cannot speak as to why a person would create a story like this."
