"After the producers of Broadway's Speed-the-Plow filed a complaint on Friday about the actor -- who abruptly ended his run in the show due to a high mercury count -- Jeremy Piven's rep calls the grievance "absurd and outrageous," reports UsWeekly.
Piven claims his twice-daily sushi diet lead to mercury poisoning, which was his reason for leaving the play two months early.
"Mr. Piven's serious medical condition has been well documented by multiple physicians," his rep said. "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."
"Although the producers had an opportunity to have Mr. Piven examined by their own physician, they never did so," Piven's rep told Entertainment Tonight. "The results of such an examination would have undoubtedly corroborated the conclusions of Mr. Piven's treating physicians and would have confirmed the medical necessity of his departure from the show. 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. Among other things, the production failed to pay his required compensation and he has been defamed in the media by their false accusations."
Adding to the gossip this week was a rumor that Piven wanted out of the play to attend last weekend's Golden Globe Awards, where he was nominated for Entourage, but lost.
