Armie Hammer 'kind of likes' cannibalism accusations after Hollywood exile
Armie Hammer had a "sort of indignation" over the last few years following allegations of cannibalism and a sex scandal, which saw the fallout of his Hollywood status and marital breakdown.
Hammer, 38, admitted the public's reaction to claims he was a cannibal was "wild" on the debut episode of his Armie HammerTime Podcast.
"I'm not gonna lie. I kinda like the cannibal stuff now. I'm just like, 'Hey I'm a cannibal,'" Hammer told his first guest, comedian Tom Arnold, who noted, "The cannibalism thing is my favorite."
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"What makes more noise? Armie Hammer is a cannibal, or Armie Hammer might not be a cannibal?"
Hammer added, "The cannibal thing makes more noise, and you don't get an apology tour in this world. Like, someone says something about you, everyone believes it, and then they move on with their lives to whatever it is that they're focused on because they’ve got their own lives."
The "Call Me by Your Name" star was accused of sexual assault in 2017 by a former girlfriend, who also claimed Hammer raped her "violently" and "for over four hours."
His career derailed following a series of text messages that allegedly detailed sexual fantasies, including references to rape, violence and cannibalism. They were leaked online by an anonymous Instagram account named "House of Effie."
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Another ex-girlfriend, Paige Lorenze, accused Hammer of branding her with a knife. His ex-wife, Elizabeth Chambers, filed for divorce in 2020, months before abuse, rape and cannibalistic fantasy allegations against Hammer publicly came to light. Their divorce was finalized last year.
Despite a difficult few years, Hammer said he was "grateful" he went through "all of that bull----, because now, where I am is so much better than if none of that would have ever happened."
He remembered the gradual pace at which "s--- hit the fan," and receiving phone calls from his agent telling him someone online was saying he was "being abusive."
"No specifics, but they're just saying you're abusive, and it's starting to pick up traction," Hammer said. When his agent asked if he knew who was behind the accusations, Hammer said, "Yes, I know exactly who this is."
Hammer noted that online critics fanned the flames and would ask his accusers, "Did he rape you? You should call the cops." He said, "And she was writing online at the time, ‘He never raped me. No need for the police. It was consensual.' She was putting all this out there. Once the rape thing was dropped, then it was like, the s--- hit the fan so hard that the fan exploded."
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He remembered his lawyer at the time advising him to be quiet, and told him, "You can’t do or say anything. They’re going to open a criminal investigation on you, so you need to shut the f--- up."
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"That's why I was completely silent," Hammer said. "I was completely silent for the 2.5 years that I was under investigation because I wasn't going to do anything to make this worse."
Arnold asked, "Was it hard to be silent?" to which Hammer said, "Oh yeah, it was super hard because all of these people were saying things about me, but there was nothing I could do to defend myself."
At first, Hammer held "a lot of resentment" toward the people who dropped him during the scandal, from his PR rep to his agent and close friends.
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"I was like, f--- you guys. You guys all know me," Hammer said. "Every single person would call me and go, ‘I've known you since you were 19 years old. You’re not this guy. Whoever this monster that these people are talking about, we know that this isn’t you.'"
The rape allegations prompted a nine-month criminal investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department. Hammer denied all allegations of sexual misconduct, and in May 2023, prosecutors announced Hammer wouldn't be charged in the sex assault case.
Hammer and his family were the subjects of a Discovery+ docuseries that explored the "deeply troubling accusations leveled against critically acclaimed actor Armie Hammer and the dark, twisted legacy of the Hammer dynasty."
Amid the accusations, he was dropped from a number of films, including Paramount's "The Offer," a show about the making of "The Godfather," whose lead role went to Miles Teller.
He was also supposed to star opposite Jennifer Lopez in "Shotgun Wedding," a role that went to Josh Duhamel. After leaving treatment in May 2021, Hammer was reportedly later spotted selling timeshares in the Cayman Islands.
In August, Hammer revealed he needed to trade in his truck after he claimed he "can’t afford" gas since moving back to Los Angeles.