Best known for his work as no-filter Hollywood agent Ari Gold in HBO’s Entourage, TV star Jeremy Piven has proven he hasn’t quite shaken the character after labelling Perth the “meth capital of Australia”.
Attending the premiere of his latest film Primitive War in Sydney on Monday night, Piven was pushed to name his “favourite place” Down Under after an extended period touring his stand-up show.
But the comic’s initial remarks were far from complimentary, at least towards the west coast.
“In the middle of my tour, we headed over to Perth, which is the meth capital of Australia… I don’t know if you know that,” he told celebrity.land.
“And so in the spirit of Donald Trump, I want to rename Perth, ‘Merth’.”
The 60-year-old performed at Mt Lawley’s Astor Theatre on August 6, following an East Coast jaunt that featured stops in Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane, and later Adelaide.
However, after laughing off the comments, the star changed his tune and dropped his favourite local hang out.
“The reality is, I went to a cigar bar called The Social Club there and it was one of the best cigar lounges I’ve ever been to in my life,” he revealed.
The two-time Emmy winner may have been referring to Cigar Social, a private, members-only cigar lounge in West Perth.
PerthNow reached out to Cigar Social, with the venue choosing not to confirm nor deny Piven’s attendance.
Speaking more broadly about his stand-up tour, the actor reflected on the warm reception he’d received across the nation.
“Every stop that I had, whether it was the Enmore Theatre here in Sydney or going to Melbourne and playing Hamer Hall, they were some of the best times I’ve ever had in my life,” he said.
“Sold out houses… It was just incredible. I loved it.”
The actor stars alongside Australia’s Ryan Kwanten and Canadian Tricia Helfer in Primitive War, a horror film set amid the Vietnam War that was filmed in the Gold Coast’s jungle.
It follows Piven’s other Aussie production Numbered Lives, a thriller shot in South Australia last year that was released nationally earlier this month.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.perthnow.com.au ’
