Back in April, I covered the long interview Jeremy Renner did with The Hollywood Reporter. It was a great piece – Renner outright denied the persistent gossip about his sexuality, he spoke on the record about that knife fight in Thailand, and he told a hilariously crazy story about “choking out” a dude at a bar who shoved his sister. Basically, Jeremy Renner seems like he would be a fun dude to have a drink with. Maybe I’m projecting my personal feelings onto all of you, but seriously – even if you’re not attracted to him (??), don’t you just want to hang out with him? Well, I’m not the only one. Lots of people like to hang out with Jeremy in bars. Because it seems like Jeremy spends a lot of his time in bars celebrating all of his successes. And now the tabloids are trying to make it into a “OMG, drinking problem!” thing.

Jeremy Renner’s star is on the rise. But his friends fear that his hard-partying habits may bring his blooming career to a screeching halt.

During a recent meal at LA’s Chateau Marmont, “Jeremy was too drunk for his own good,” an eyewitness tells Star. The “wasted” actor even spilled a drink on his pants, “and kept saying, ‘my balls are wet’,” adds the source.

Though Jeremy’s rep denies the claims, the booze fueled feast seemed to match his wild antics on the Avengers world press tour.

“He had all-night binges,” explains the source. “His A-list pals said it was scary to see him that over the top.”

And it could hinder his success. If Jeremy continues to party non-stop, “he could miss out on future installments of the hit franchise.”

[From Star Magazine, print edition]

Eh. While this report depresses me because I think parts of it could be true, I also think I should point out – Renner isn’t some Amanda Bynes, you know? He’s not getting arrested for DUIs, he’s not getting banned from bars, he’s not losing the respect of his peers – at all. But I do think he likes to party. I think he likes to go out and celebrate, and I think he’s 41 years old – he knows how to “maintain”. He knows how to get drunk without getting sloppy. Although I would love to hear Jeremy mutter “My balls are wet, my balls are wet” on a loop. My new happy place.

Photos courtesy of WENN.