Following a protracted investigation in Los Angeles, a decision has been made not to charge Armie Hammer with sexual assault. According to a May 31 report by Variety, the District Attorney’s office admitted they could not prove the allegations “beyond a reasonable doubt.”
“In this case, those prosecutors conducted an extremely thorough review, but determined that at this time, there is insufficient evidence to charge Mr. Hammer with a crime,” they said in a statement to the publication. “As prosecutors, we have an ethical responsibility to only charge cases that we can prove beyond a reasonable doubt… Due to the complexity of the relationship and inability to prove a non-consensual, forcible sexual encounter we are unable to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Armie, 36, previously faced a potential criminal trial over two years after multiple women came forward with abuse allegations against the actor. Shortly after the news, the actor took to Instagram to share his own statement, writing, “I am very grateful to the District Attorney for conducting a thorough investigation and coming to the conclusion that I have stood by this entire time, that no crime was committed. I look forward to beginning what will be a long, difficult process of putting my life back together now that my name is cleared.” It’s currently the only post on his verified account.
Prior to the charges being dropped, a spokesperson for the district attorney’s office shared that they were looking into the case. “I can confirm that the LAPD has presented a case regarding Armie Hammer to the LADA. The matter is currently under review,” they told CNN.
Armie was first publicly accused of abuse in January 2021, when an Instagram account leaked alleged screenshots between the actor and many women where he detailed different sexual fantasies. A woman, who went by the name Effie, later came forward and accused him of raping her in 2017. She was represented by Gloria Allred. Armie’s lawyers denied the accusation, but LAPD did conduct an investigation into the woman’s claims.
In a statement on May 31, Effie reacted with disappointment to the decision not to prosecute. “I felt a duty to speak out and file a report in order to try to hold Armie accountable for all the harm and trauma he has caused me and in order to protect other women from experiencing similar abuse,” she told Page Six. “It has cost me a great deal to have spoken out and filed a report against Armie’s abuse.”
She stated that she has endured “death threats, rape threats, countless attacks, and atrocious, incessant harassment.” “I believe that many of Armie’s victims were afraid to come forward,” she said. “My hope is that one day, rapists won’t get away with it.”
Other women also came forward with different allegations against the actor, and he was the subject of a 2022 docu-series called House of Hammer, which detailed allegations against him, including accounts from alleged victims Courtney Vucekovich and Julia Morrison.
Armie has denied wrongdoing, but he did open up about some of the accusations against him, including some about specific fetishes in a February interview with AirMail. “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,” he said.
After the documentary was released, Armie’s ex-wife Elizabeth Chambers released a statement, showing support for the victims. “I consider myself a feminist and at the end of the day, I also stand in solidarity with anyone who has been a victim of any sort and hope that they find that healing as well,” she said in a statement to E! News in September 2022.
After the documentary was released, Elizabeth later admitted to watching the docuseries in the company of her “support system” in an in-depth interview with E! News. “I definitely was surprised, but I think that’s to be expected. It didn’t feel great, especially when you feel like you have done that work, but I mean the moral of the story is that the work is never done,” she said.