Here are four things that have happened in the past week: 1) Ariane Bellamar said she was once “cornered” by actor Jeremy Piven, then groped. 2) Cassidy Freeman accused Jeremy Piven of “predatory behavior” when she was “far too young.” 3) Tiffany Bacon Scourby said Piven once jumped on top of her in a hotel room, masturbated while she was pinned down, and ejaculated on her. 4) Jeremy Piven said, “The accusations against me are absolutely false and completely fabricated.”
But that’s not where his statement, released Thursday, ends. After offering to take a polygraph test (which are notoriously unreliable, by the way) and saying he feels “compassion for the victims of such acts,” Piven’s statement begins to drift into something much more irritating. He writes:
“We seem to be entering dark times—allegations are being printed as facts and lives are being put in jeopardy without a hearing, due process or evidence I hope we can give people the benefit of a doubt before we rush to judgment. Continuing to tear each other down and destroy careers based on mere allegations is not productive on any level. I hope we can use this moment to begin a constructive dialogue on these issues, which are real and need to be addressed.”
A good way to spot someone who has not even the slightest grasp on the significance of this recent groundswell of sexual assault/harassment victims speaking out about their experiences is that they all seem to think the “dark times” just began, like, a month ago.