Entourage creator Doug Ellin has fiercely defended the show after Debi Mazar claimed the set became “toxic” by its third season and that she was shamed for gaining weight after pregnancy.
Mazar played Shauna Roberts, the outspoken publicist to fictional movie star Vincent Chase (Adrian Grenier), on HBO’s hit aughts drama, which followed the actor and his close-knit group of friends as they navigated fame and Hollywood.
“My thoughts are this is disgusting,” Ellin wrote in a post on X Tuesday reacting to Mazar’s comments.
“Never, ever did myself or anyone that matters care or discuss Debi Mazar’s body. I would one million percent embrace any woman who got pregnant.”
He continued: “The only bodies on the show I ever commented on were [Grenier’s] ( I wanted him more muscular) and [Jerry Ferrara], who I wanted fatter. I will forever feel bad about that because I didn’t realize the health implications at the time and now couldn’t be happier for Jerry’s transformation.”
Ferrara, who played Vincent Chase’s longtime friend and driver Turtle, underwent a dramatic transformation in the show’s later seasons, losing around 60 pounds after a doctor advised him to lose weight.
Ellin’s comments come after Mazar spoke out about her experience on the series in a recent interview with The Times of London.
“Season one was a joy-fest. But in the third season, the set was a testosterone-fuelled environment,” Mazar said.
“I’m tough, but it got toxic towards the end for me. And I’d had my second baby and they didn’t like that I got fat, even though I got skinny again,” she claimed.
“It was complicated because I’m outspoken and never held back my discontent. But I always was professional and I’m grateful I was on it. It was a lot of fun, until it wasn’t.”
She added: “It was complicated because I’m outspoken and never held back my discontent. But I always was professional and I’m grateful I was on it. It was a lot of fun, until it wasn’t.”
The Independent has contacted representatives for Mazar and HBO for comment.
As Entourage has aged, critics have increasingly argued that its depiction of women isn’t satire so much as straightforward objectification.
Its reputation has not been helped by sexual assault allegations lodged against ex-cast members Jeremy Piven, who played Vinnie’s foul-mouthed agent Ari Gold, and Kevin Connolly, who plays Vince’s best friend/manager Eric “E” Murphy. Both actors denied the allegations.
Rex Lee, who played Ari’s assistant Lloyd, said in 2009 he was subjected to racist and homophobic jokes on set, just as his character was. Ellin said at the time he spoke to Lee and found out that the crew members had made “insensitive gay jokes” at Lee’s expense.
However, Emmanuelle Chriqui, who played Eric’s girlfriend Sloan, defended the show against claims of misogyny, claiming it was a realistic portrayal of Hollywood at the time.
“It was A) a different time and B) not that different to what happens still now,” she said in a 2023 podcast appearance. “Like, let’s be real. Yeah. It was before MeToo, but every week there’s some new s***head who’s going down for something.
“… The truth is that Doug Ellin was a genius and Doug Ellin simply wrote about the s*** that went on and he did it in an entertaining fashion… Doug used to say, ‘My god, this is tame compared to what the real story is.’”
