Is Armie Hammer's career dead? Actor accused of abuse by multiple women drops out of ‘The Godfather’ series
Things are looking bad for Armie Hammer. As per a Variety report, he will no longer star in the upcoming Paramount Plus series ‘The Offer’, which tells the behind-the-scenes story of the making of ‘The Godfather’, Francis Ford Coppola’s 1972 adaptation of the Mario Puzo novel. Hammer was tapped to play the lead role of Al Ruddy, the man who produced ‘The Godfather’, in the ten-episode series.
The ‘Call Me By Your Name’ star earlier this month came under fire after unverified screengrabs of lurid text messages allegedly sent by Hammer between 2016 and 2020 were shared on social media. These conversations that allegedly occurred between Hammer and multiple women via Instagram DMs centered on his sexual fetishes, from BDSM to “drinking blood”, “cutting toes”, and his alleged “cannibalism”.
The unnamed person who first shared the screenshots claimed she had an affair with Hammer for four years. She also claimed that she found five other women who all said they were involved with the actor. Since then, many other women came forward with their own claims about dealing with the actor.
Paige Lorenze, who dated Hammer for four months between August and December 2020, claimed she was subjected to brutal and painful treatment from the actor in the name of his sexual fantasies. In one disturbing incident from November 2020, Hammer carved his initial ‘A’ on her private area with a knife, to brand her as his ‘property’. Courtney Vucekovich, who also said that she dated the actor briefly in 2020, from June to October, said that being with him was like dating Hannibal Lecter -- she claimed that “he likes the idea of skin in his teeth”. She also alleged that he was emotionally abusive.
The unnamed Instagram user who first shared the screenshots said that others she spoke to were “overwhelmed with grief for days and nights without sleeping or eating, with some ending up in the ER".
It was announced in early December that Hammer was attached to lead the show in the role of Al Ruddy, who produced “The Godfather” back in 1972. The 10-episode series details Ruddy’s experience working on the iconic film. The search is now on for a new series lead.
Hammer’s exit from ‘The Offer’ comes weeks after he also dropped out of the rom-com ‘Shotgun Wedding’. Hammer was set to begin production on the film opposite Jennifer Lopez immediately, but will now be recast. Following that, Hammer said in a statement: “I’m not responding to these bulls*** claims but in light of the vicious and spurious online attacks against me, I cannot in good conscience now leave my children for 4 months to shoot a film in the Dominican Republic. Lionsgate is supporting me in this and I’m grateful to them for that.”
Michael Tolkin is writing and executive producing ‘The Offer’ with Al Ruddy, Nikki Toscano, and Leslie Grief. Paramount Television Studios will produce the show. Hammer was most recently seen in Netflix's adaptation of 'Rebecca' and is also set to reprise his role in the upcoming 'Call Me by Your Name' sequel with Timothée Chalamet, directed by Luca Guadagnino.