Armie Hammer broke his silence in his first interview since a series of sex abuse allegations imploded his life. The disgraced actor, 36, denied any criminal wrongdoings, revealed he suffered childhood sexual abuse and claimed he had suicidal intentions over the scandal while speaking with James Kirchick of Air Mail. “I’m here to own my mistakes, take accountability for the fact that I was an a******, that I was selfish, that I used people to make me feel better, and when I was done, moved on,” Hammer said in the piece published Saturday, February 4.
Hammer, who was accused of rape and having cannibalistic fetishes, said his interests in BDSM originated from alleged sexual abuse he suffered at the hands of a youth pastor when he was 13 years old. “What that did for me was it introduced sexuality into my life in a way that it was completely out of my control. I was powerless in the situation,” he explained. “I had no agency in the situation. Sexuality was introduced to me in a scary way where I had no control. My interests then went to: I want to have control in the situation, sexually.” The publication states it corroborated this account with Hammer’s godmother.
The allegations, however, pushed Hammer to the brink of taking his own life. As for the incident in the Cayman Islands described as “attempted suicide” by Kirchick, Hammer offered, “I just walked out into the ocean and swam out as far as I could and hoped that either I drowned, or was hit by a boat, or eaten by a shark. Then I realized that my kids were still on shore, and that I couldn’t do that to my kids.” Hammer shares Harper, 7, and Ford Armand, 5. with his ex-wife Elizabeth Chambers, who left Hammer after the allegations arose.
In 2021, Hammer was accused of sexual abuse by numerous women, whose claims went viral on social media. The most damning allegations came from Efrosina Angelova, aka Effie, who said the actor had sexually assaulted her while they were in a years-long, extramarital relationship. Kirchick detailed alleged messages between Angelova and Hammer’s then-wife Chambers, where Angelova reportedly admitted the affair and wrote, “I was pretty much chasing him.”
Hammer denied any wrongdoing and said the sexual encounter Angelova referred to as rape was a “scene” he and Angelova agreed upon in advance. “She planned all of the details out, all the way down to what Starbucks I would see her at, how I would follow her home, how her front door would be open and unlocked and I would come in, and we would engage in what is called a ‘consensual non-consent scene,’ CNC,” Hammer calimed. “Every single thing was discussed beforehand. I have never thrust this on someone unexpectedly. Never.”
The Call Me By Your Name star also offered a response to accusations from two other women. “I would have these younger women in their mid-20s, and I’m in my 30s,” he began. “I was a successful actor at the time. They could have been happy to just be with me and would have said yes to things that maybe they wouldn’t have said yes to on their own. That’s an imbalance of power in the situation.”
Hammer would go on to say he was “one million percent” emotionally abusive to his accusers, but insisted he has come a long way in his recovery. “I’m now a healthier, happier, more balanced person. I’m able to be there for my kids in a way I never was. I’m truly grateful for my life and my recovery and everything. I would not go back and undo everything that’s happened to me,” he said.
Despite losing out on many Hollywood projects and being shunned by the industry after the allegations came to light, Hammer said he’s hoping for a redemption story, ala Robert Downey Jr. “There are examples everywhere, Robert [Downey Jr.] being one of them, of people who went through those things and found redemption through a new path. And that, I feel like, is what’s missing in this cancel-culture, woke-mob business. The minute anyone does anything wrong, they’re thrown away. There’s no chance for rehabilitation.”