After the women came forward with their allegations, Hammer was dropped by his agency and fired from multiple projects. The actor has been living in the Cayman Islands, reportedly as a timeshare salesman.
Hammer has now given his first interview since the allegations where he shares his side of the story.
In the interview with AirMail (via Variety), the actor alleges he was sexually abused by a youth pastor when he was 13.
“What that did for me was it introduced sexuality into my life in a way that it was completely out of my control,” Hammer told AirMail. “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.”
AirMail has also reportedly corroborated the story with Hammer’s godmother. Further abuse within the Hammer family was chronicled in the Discovery+ series House of Hammer. Hammer denies any criminal wrongdoings, but admits to an “imbalance of power in the situation”.
“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 says.
The actor also said he contemplated suicide after the rape allegations in 2021, saying he walked into the ocean, but his kids made him return to shore, saying “I couldn’t do that to my kids.”
Armie Hammer and Timothée Chalamet in Call Me By Your Name. Credit: Sony Pictures Classics
Hammer now describes himself as a “healthier, happier, more balanced person”.
“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 says, also noting he has become a sober companion to a recovering addict.
The actor has a close friendship with fellow actor Robert Downey Jr., who reportedly paid for Hammer’s treatment and has provided him with additional financial support.
“There are examples everywhere, Robert 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 says of the situation. “The minute anyone does anything wrong, they’re thrown away. There’s no chance for rehabilitation.”
He then goes on to say, “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.”
