'I was powerless': Armie Hammer reveals he was sexually abused by youth pastor at 13, considered suicide after career downfall
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255)
CAYMAN ISLANDS, UNITED KINGDOM: Armie Hammer is making an effort to present his side of the story two years after he was accused of sexual abuse, which led to the end of his career as a movie star. In a recent interview, Hammer admitted that he contemplated suicide after his failure and that a youth pastor had sexually assaulted him when he was just 13 years old.
He even denied the criminal allegations and cannibalistic fetishes leveled against him. But, he admits that his emotional abuse of his partners stemmed from being molested.
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'Sexuality was introduced to me in a scary way'
“What that did for me was it introduced sexuality into my life in a way that it was completely out of my control,” Hammer said in an interview with Air Mail. “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.”
“The Social Network” actor Hammer, 36 had rarely been heard from since he was accused of sexual abuse by numerous women. The beeline of acquisitions followed when a girl named Effie, 26, back in 2021 accused him of raping her violently. The scandal winded up his career and initiated an LAPD investigation. He was even fired from projects and dropped by his agency WME. This included Jennifer Lopez’s “Shotgun Wedding,” as per Variety.
Hammer accepts he was emotionally abusive
Hammer while recalling the relationship with two of his accusers Courtney Vucekovich and Paige Lorenze accepts that “the power dynamics were off” and admits “one million percent” that he was emotionally abusive towards both women as per the report.
“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. “That’s an imbalance of power in the situation.”
The actor has spent time in a rehabilitation center and worked as a timeshare salesman in the Cayman Islands over the previous two years where he once contemplated suicide. The allegations against Hammer came out after his split with TV host Elizabeth Chambers. The couple who were married for 10 years shares two children.
Why did Armie Hammer contemplate suicide?
“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 tells, recalling his time in the Caymans. “Then I realized that my kids were still on shore, and that I couldn’t do that to my kids.”
'I’m here to own my mistakes'
The 'Call Me by Your Name' actor goes ahead and says his behavior with his ex-partners was him being an "a*****e". “I’m here to own my mistakes, take accountability for the fact that I was an a*****e, that I was selfish, that I used people to make me feel better, and when I was done, moved on,” Hammer says. “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."