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Armie Hammer is comparing his exile from Hollywood to being crucified.
In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the “Call Me by Your Name” star — who was canceled after accusations of sexual assault and cannibalistic fantasies surfaced in 2021 — opened up about how the aftermath completely derailed his career and explained how he managed to push past the downfall.
Hammer was accused of sexual assault in 2021 by a former girlfriend, who also claimed the actor raped her “violently” and “for over four hours.” Hammer, who was married to wife Elizabeth Chambers at the time of the alleged assault in 2017, was seemingly exiled from Hollywood following a series of text messages that allegedly detailed sexual fantasies, including references to rape, physical and psychological violence and cannibalism.
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Armie Hammer attends the ‘Free Fire’ Closing Night Gala screening during the 60th BFI London Film Festival at Odeon Leicester Square in London, England, on Oct. 16, 2016. (Getty Images)
They were leaked online by his ex-girlfriend, Efrosina Angelova. In April 2023, the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office confirmed there was an ongoing investigation, but the DA said there ultimately was not sufficient evidence to charge him with any wrongdoing.
In his interview with THR, Hammer recalled the moment his father, Michael, urged him to take a stand against the accusations.
“He was furious,” Hammer said. “‘I’m going to call this person, I’m going to do this, we have to make sure they know this.’ He really wanted to go on the offensive.”
“I said, ‘Look, dude, I’m already on the cross. The nails are in my hands. I’m not getting off this cross no matter what we do,'” Hammer, who had fled to the Cayman Islands at the time, recalled saying to his dad. “And the more I struggle, the longer I’m going to be up here.”
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Armie Hammer thought cannibalism claims were “wild.” (Noam Galai)
In order to cope, said Hammer, he had to accept his reality.
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“That which you resist persists. That which you accept transforms,” he said. “There was nothing I could say that was going to fix anything for me.”
“There was a period where I was obsessively reading what people were saying,” he continued. “And then it hit critical mass, and I thought: There is no nutritional value in this for me. This is almost not even the real world. I realized I could just focus on myself and my kids and staying healthy and growing as a person. You can make that your purpose.”
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During his interview, Hammer did take full responsibility for the scandal.
Armie Hammer says being accused of being a “cannibal” was “hilarious” in retrospect. (John Lamparski/WireImage/Getty Images)
“I made these problems for myself. This didn’t happen to me by a fluke accident,” Hammer told the outlet. “I didn’t do what people are saying I did. But I brought very dangerous and unsafe people into my life, and I p—-d off people in my life — and here we are.”
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“I remember the emotional state and the mental state I was in before all that happened. Healthy people don’t act the way I was acting. I would have loved if I could have had an opportunity to do it in a little bit more of a gentle way. But at the end of the day — you get what you get.”
His ex-wife, Chambers, filed for divorce in 2020, months before abuse, rape and cannibalistic fantasy allegations against Hammer publicly came to light. Their divorce was finalized in 2023.
