KEVIN CONNOLLY - CONNOLLY CALLS FOR A STOP TO PIVEN BACKLASH

CONNOLLY CALLS FOR A STOP TO PIVEN BACKLASH

KEVIN CONNOLLY has urged critics of his ENTOURAGE co-star JEREMY PIVEN to back off after the actor was attacked for dropping out of a Broadway play last year (08).
Piven was forced to step down from Speed-The-Plow in December (08), citing severe fatigue. He later revealed he had been diagnosed with toxic mercury poisoning due to his love of sushi.
His abrupt departure left New York theatre bosses fuming as they scrambled to find a last-minute replacement in the form of William H. MACy, and they took their complaint to the Actors Equity Association, claiming Piven's exit jeopardised show earnings.
But Connolly is sure Piven meant no harm when he quit the stage show and is calling for a stop to the harsh comments directed towards his TV colleague, because he's "a good guy".
He says, "I know that there was a real backlash but Jeremy's a good guy.
"It's easy to point the finger when you don't know what's going on in a person's body but until you walk in those person's shoes, you don't know what's going on. I think he got a bum deal, I don't think it was an ideal situation for him.
"Jeremy's a good guy and I don't think he had any intention of getting out of the play. I think people were a little hard."
However, Connolly admits he and his Entourage castmembers like to poke fun at Piven over the furore, adding: "There's an ongoing joke about how much fish he eats and he certainly eats a lot of sushi, but mercury poisoning is a real illness."