Silke Jasso
Two years after Armie Hammer faced a series of sexual abuse allegations ending his career, he is now attempting to tell his side of the story. In a new interview after following years of silence, he revealed that he contemplated suicide after his downfall, claiming he was sexually abused by a youth pastor at the age of 13.
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The actor, who was a subject of an LAPD investigation after being accused of rape, has denied all Criminal wrongdoing but does admit to being emotionally abusive toward his former partners that he had met online.
The Call Me on Your Name actor was accused of having cannibalistic fetishes by several women which caused a stir in the entertainment world. Now, the actor stated that his interest in BDSM originates from him being sexually abused by his youth pastor when he was a teenager.
“What that did for me was it introduced sexuality into my life in a way that it was completely out of my control,” Hammer stated. “I was powerless in the situation. 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.”
House of Hammer
Speaking with Air Mail, Hammer went on to tell his own side of the story for the very first time. The digital newsletter reported that Hammer told two people about his childhood abuse, saying that it corroborated his account with his godmother.
Hammer was accused back in 2021 of sexual abuse and improper behavior by several women, whose shocking claims spiraled on social media and put the actor at the center of a firestorm. In the wake of a scandal, he was dropped by his age, WME, and was fired from several projects, including the recently released Jennifer Lopez movie Shotgun Wedding.
Over the past two years, he has reportedly worked as a timeshare salesman in the Cayman Islands in order to spend time in a recovery facility. Last year Discovery + released a docuseries, House of Hammer, that chronicled his downfall with several of his accusers publicly coming forward on camera. The actor stated that he contemplated suicide as his life was falling apart.
“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,” Hammer told Air Mail. “Then I realized that my kids were still on shore, and that I couldn’t do that to my kids.”
Hammer was married to TV host Elizabeth Chambers for 10 years, but the couple split before the allegations came out. The couple shares two children.
Elizabeth Chambers Opens Up
In the interview Hammer goes on to detail some of the accusations against him, undermining the nature of the allegations and revealing a very different set of accounts thaO what his accusers stated. one of the most damning allegations against the actor was by a woman, who is known Effie, who accused him of violently raping her which led the LAPD to investigate. Effie is behind the Instagram account, House of Effie, in which she first posted the allegations against Hammer, which garnered widespread attention back in 2021.
Hammer went on to comment on his relationship with accusers Paige Lorenze and Courtney Vucekovich, acknowledging that “the power dynamics were off” saying that he was “one million percent” emotionally abusive towards both.
“I would have these younger women in their mid-20s, and I’m in my 30s. 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,” Hammer stated. “That’s an imbalance of power in the situation.”
Still, he denies any criminal wrongdoing and boils down his behavior and accusations to “ being an asshole.”
“I’m here to own my mistakes, take accountability for the fact that I was an asshole, that I was selfish, that I used people to make me feel better, and when I was done, moved on,” Hammer revealed. “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.”
Now, the actor says he’s improving through his recovery and is working as a sober companion to a fellow recovering addict out of rehab. “I’m going to move in with him and live with him, get him on a healthy routine, get him into a good schedule of [recovery] meetings, take him to the gym, cook healthy food for him,” Hammer stated. “It feels like my recovery has taken a turn from me being the one who needs help staying sober, to me being able to help others.”
He also revealed that he has found a friend and Robert Downey jr, who has openly supported him emotionally and financially. Vanity Fair had previously reported that the actor paid for his treatment and went on to provide him with additional financial assistance and a place to stay in order to get him back on his feet.
“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,” Hammer noted. “The minute anyone does anything wrong, they’re thrown away. There’s no chance for rehabilitation.”
“When they throw someone like me on the fire to protect themselves…all they’re doing is making the fire bigger. And that fire is now out of control and it’s going to burn everyone.”
