Jeremy Piven in trouble with Broadway producers

Piven claims his doctors diagnosed him with mercury poisoning and advised him to quit the demanding Broadway schedule two months early to focus on his recovery.

Unfortunately, the actor was spotted at quite a few events, clubs and parties, including the birthday party of Britney Spears, while he was supposedly direly ill.

In a statement, producer Jeffrey Richards, announces, "The producers of Speed-the-Plow have officially filed a grievance with Actors' Equity re: Jeremy Piven's departure. A date for these proceedings is to be determined."

Piven's rep hit back with a statement of his own:

"The claims made by the producers of Speed-the-Plow are absurd and outrageous. Mr. Piven's serious medical condition has been well documented by multiple physicians. 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.

His symptoms included extreme fatigue, spacial problems, difficulty remembering his lines, difficulty maintaining his balance, and an alarmingly low resting heart rate. Mr. Piven followed his doctors' advice, although his forced withdrawal from the show was an enormous personal disappointment since it was a life-long dream to perform on Broadway."

No statement has been given yet by the union, Piven's mom, or Entourage producer Mark Wahlberg about the mercury poisoning situation.

I'm sure we'll hear from them too.