Armie Hammeris breaking his silence (again) onthosecannibal allegations. Following a promising career start and an Oscar nod for his work onCall Me by Your Name, Hammer’s career took a blow in 2021 as allegations that he was emotionally and sexually abusive began to surface; leaked text messages in which Hammer described violent sexual fantasies and claimed to be “100% a cannibal” added fuel to the fire. In a recent podcast, Hammer spoke about the allegations (which he denies) and the text messages (which he doesn’t).
During an appearance onThe Louis Theroux Podcast,Hammer opened up about the texts, explaining to Theroux that the leaked messages lacked context. According to Hammer, the person who leaked the texts omitted their side of the conversation:
“You, like, that could have been a very funny conversation between two people who were joking and pushing each other and egging each other on.” He adds: “In the way that sometimes you see comedians pushing the boundary further and further when they’re having a conversation. I’m not going to argue the messages.”
“Any digitally altered evidence is immediately inadmissible because you have no context.”
Addressing the cannibalism claim directly, Hammer says:
“You know what you have to do to actually be a cannibal? You have to actually eat human flesh. So no.”
He also admits that joking about it while “stoned or drunk” was “fun,” but that he never intended to act on those statements. One text, however, was confirmed to be true by Hammer: that he had “cut the heart out of a living animal before and eaten it while still warm.” Telling Theroux that the act had nothing to do with sexual gratification, he explains:
“You don’t eat the whole heart, you don’t do that. You take a bite out of the heart, and you’ve got all your buddies around you, they’re goading you on, it’s sort of like an almost overly charged male rite of passage when you go hunting for your first time. Everyone that I know who went hunting for their first time had to do something similar.”
Armie Hammer on Abuse Allegations: Selfish, but Not Illegal
During his conversation with Theroux, Hammer also discussed the allegations that he was emotionally and physically abusive. While Hammer owns up to being “a dk to women” and “selfish, and inconsiderate, and an ahole, and a cad,” he maintains his innocence, saying none of his actions were ever illegal. “I think that that is what is also being conflated (…) by this culture that we’re in now,” says Hammer, referencing cancel culture. Using an unfortunate combination of words, Hammer goes on to describe the people he hurt as “sort of like my bags of dope with skin on them.”
Allegations against Hammer were amplified by a 2022 documentary,House of Hammer, centered on the Hammer family, focusing primarily on the claims of sexual abuse and misconduct against actor Armie. The Discovery+ series explores the accusations made against the actor by several women, including claims of emotional manipulation, sexual violence, and even cannibalistic tendencies. It relied on firsthand accounts from some of his accusers and featured those questionable text messages (you can read more about them viaVariety).
Hammer comes from a wealthy and influential family with roots in the oil and industrial world. His acting career began with minor roles in television series likeArrested DevelopmentandGossip Girlbefore his breakthrough performance as the Winklevoss twins in 2010’sThe Social Network. He starred in 2017’sCall Me by Your Name,which garnered him a Golden Globe nod. His other notable projects includeHotel Mumbai,On the Basis of Sex, andRebecca. Despite being a talented actor, his career took a significant hit as the allegations began to surface. Hammer was investigated by the LAPD in 2023, but the case was ultimately dropped. Hammer will next appear in two upcoming projects: Travis Mills' westernFrontier Crucibleandthe action thriller The Dark Knight– no relation to the Christopher Nolan film.
