Armie Hammer ‘grateful’ for recovery after allegations

Armie Hammer has said that the fallout from sexual misconduct allegations made against him has felt “like an anvil” on his head but he is feeling grateful for being in recovery.

The American actor, known for the Oscar-winning film Call Me by Your Name, has denied all criminal allegations against him after police in California investigated sexual assault claims in 2021.

Last year, the Los Angeles County District Attorney decided not to charge him.

Hammer, also known for Death on the Nile, The Man From UNCLE, and The Social Network, told Sunday’s The Painful Lessons Podcast on YouTube: “Whatever it was that people said, whatever it was that happened, I’m now at a place in my life where I’m grateful for every single bit of it.

“I’m actually now at a place where I’m really grateful for it because where I was in my life before all of that stuff happened to me, I didn’t feel good. I never felt satisfied, I never had enough. I never was in a place where I was happy with myself, where I had self-esteem. I never knew how to give myself love.

“I never knew how to give myself validation, but I had this job where I was able to get it from so many people that I never had to learn how to give it to myself.”

Hammer also described himself as previously being a “black hole, you know, no matter how much compliments, and no matter how much adoration, people were throwing my way”.

He said this was transformed into “hate, like on a global scale” following the various claims made against him.

In 2022, the Discovery+ documentary House of Hammer, produced by his aunt, Casey Hammer, aired, making a series of allegations.

It alleged the actor had sent threatening voice notes and unusual messages.

Hammer also faced allegations that he sent explicit messages on social media.

During the podcast, Hammer also said: “Now at the time, I didn’t have the wherewithal or frame of mind to understand that this was a lesson.

“But now, being not only removed from the initial chaos of it, but also having learned everything that I’ve learned as a result from it, I look at it now and I go, ‘You know what? Like, it was awful. And I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy’.

“But for the people in my life that I truly love, I hope some version, preferably smaller than what I went through, would happen to them as well so they could learn everything that I’ve learned. And I feel great about it.”

Hammer contended that if “everything is easy”, humans become a “delicate little thing”.

He continued: “When you get an anvil dropped on your head, it wakes you up real quick.”

“It killed me,” the actor also said. “It killed my ego. It killed all the people around me that I thought were my friends that weren’t… In a flash, went away.

“But the buildings were still standing. Yeah, I’m still here, I still have my health. And I’m really grateful for that.”

Hammer said his career was “nowhere”, explaining he is not getting jobs and is “not a viable commodity” in Hollywood.

Hammer added that making films is his “passion” and so he is making his “own sandbox” by writing a script.

He also explained that he went to a treatment centre for “addiction issues”, which also helped his mental health.

Hammer shares two children with his former partner, the TV personality Elizabeth Chambers.

Following the initial controversy, Hammer was replaced in various productions.

He was to star opposite Jennifer Lopez in the comedy film Shotgun Wedding. Josh Duhamel later stepped into the role.

Miles Teller also took over from Hammer in the TV series The Offer, a drama about the making of The Godfather.

Source: Press Association