Attorneys for Jeremy Piven Slap 'Cease and Desist' on The Piven Monologues

Did you think the fishiest tale in showbiz was over when an arbitrator ruled in favor of Jeremy Piven, the world’s most famous mercury-poisoning victim, in his dispute with producers of last season’s Speed-the-Plow? Think again. As we previously reported, the saga of sushi suffering inspired a new theater piece: The Piven Monologues, which was performed on September 14 at Joe’s Pub with plans afoot to do it again next month. But wait! Piven’s lawyers fired a “cease and desist” order at the show, according to The New York Post.

"We didn't say you cannot do the play, we said you can't make defamatory statements about our client," Piven’s attorney, Marty Singer, told the paper.

The show, created by Alena Smith with Jordan Seavey and Anna O’Donoghue, was described this way in press materials: “When Jeremy Piven made his abrupt exit from the Broadway production of Speed-the-Plow due to the alleged illness of mercury poisoning, Mr. Mamet may have been the first to comment [“My understanding is that he is leaving show business to pursue a career as a thermometer”]—but he was by no means the last. In this new age of instant global communication, no matter how minor the story or how wacky the rumor, everyone gets to have their say. The Piven Monologues presents a selection of the shitstorm.”