Entourage creator Doug Ellin has blasted a new gaming app ad featuring a pair of leads from his hit show.
Jeremy Piven and Adrian Grenier’s appearance in the ad for gambling app Betr, founded by boxer and influencer Jake Paul and Joey Levy, marks the first time they’ve shared the screen since the Entourage film was released in 2015.
The ad features Piven and Grenier — who played Ari Gold and Vincent Chase on all eight seasons of the beloved HBO drama — falling into a dynamic similar to the one they had on Entourage, despite the fact that they’re not reprising their characters.
Ellin wasn’t too pleased with the ad, writing on X: “I have zero positivity in watching things I busted my ass of [sic] on for years he [sic] turned into garbage seek. Zero positivity. Go create your own s***.
“And if you need money … Flip burgers. This is trash and theft. Period.”
open image in galleryEllin confirmed he was not involved in the ad in another post, writing: “I think it’s pretty damn obvious I didn’t write it. My god.”
Piven, meanwhile, shared the ad on X with the caption: “I found my boy…”
He tagged Grenier, who also shared the video, writing: “Give them what they want…”
Grenier’s caption seemingly alludes to an Entourage reunion, which has never been in development though he and Piven are open to it. Earlier this year, Grenier said if a spinoff series were to happen, he and Piven would be “ready to work,” per Variety.
A representative for Betr told The Independent: “We were excited to bring Jeremy and Adrian back together, appearing as themselves. Creating that kind of unexpected cultural moment with two amazing actors was exactly what we wanted for Betr 2.0.
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“We’re really proud of how the spot came together, and the response has been overwhelmingly positive, generating nearly 10 million organic social views in less than 24 hours,” the spokesperson continued.
“We had a lot of fun making it, they had a lot of fun making it, and people seem to be having a lot of fun watching it. We appreciate Doug watching the ad and helping promote it.”
Entourage ran on HBO from 2004-2011, with a feature film follow-up released in 2015. The show received 14 Primetime Emmy nominations and won six during its run, including three consecutive trophies for Piven’s supporting role.
Ellin’s comments about the Betr ad come days after he fiercely defended Entourage following Debi Mazar’s claims that the set became “toxic” by its third season and that she was shamed for gaining weight after pregnancy.