- Armie Hammer spoke to Air Mail in his first interview since 2021 sexual assault allegations surfaced.
- He denied the sexual misconduct allegations made in 2021 that halted his career.
Armie Hammer broke his silence after sexual misconduct and rape allegations were made against him and collapsed his career in 2021.
Hammer's interview with Air Mail's James Kirchick, published on Saturday, comes two years after he became enveloped in controversy. Hammer's then-wife – Elizabeth Chambers – filed for divorce in July 2020, months prior to the release of unverified Instagram messages purportedly from Hammer that discussed cannibalism, drinking blood, and sexual dominance in January 2021.
The account's owner, Efrosina Angelova, also accused Hammer of sexually assaulting her and said they were involved in a years-long relationship.
In his interview with Kirchick, the 36-year-old denied the sexual assault allegations from Angelova but said the two had a consensual sexual relationship. Hammer said that the details Angelova presented was, instead, a "scene" the pair planned out.
"This alleged rape was a scene that was her idea. She planned all of the details out, all the way down to what Starbucks I would see her at, how I would follow her home, how her front door would be open and unlocked and I would come in, and we would engage in what is called a 'consensual non-consent scene,' CNC,'" Hammer told the outlet.
He continued that he sought consent during each of his sexual encounters, saying: "Every single thing was discussed beforehand. I have never thrust this on someone unexpectedly. Never."
Angelova later formally accused Hammer of sexual assault in March 2021 during a press conference, saying: "I thought that he was going to kill me."
She added: "On April 24, 2017, Armie Hammer violently raped me for over four hours in Los Angeles, during which he repeatedly slapped my head against a wall, bruising my face. He also committed other acts of violence against me to which I did not consent."
Hammer's attorney, Andrew Brettler, denied the allegations at the time in a statement to Insider's Libby Torres.
"[Effie's] own correspondence with Mr. Hammer undermines and refutes her outrageous allegations," Brettler wrote. "As recently as July 18, 2020, [she] sent graphic texts to Mr. Hammer telling him what she wanted him to do to her. Mr. Hammer responded making it clear that he did not want to maintain that type of relationship with her."
The Los Angeles Police Department confirmed to Insider in March 2021 that Hammer was the subject of an investigation. TMZ reported in December 2021 that the investigation ended and it was unlikely that Hammer would face charges.
Hammer also addressed sexual misconduct allegations from two of his ex-girlfriends, Paige Lorenze and Courtney Vucekovich, in Air Mail's interview.
Lorenze shared purported explicit text messages between her and Hammer with Page Six, telling the outlet that Hammer carved the letter "A" near her vagina with a knife.
"These latest messages are just further evidence of the reality of his dangerous proclivities and his reaction shows his blatant disregard for the women he has traumatized," Lorenze told Page Six.
Vucekovich told Page Six in January 2021 that Hammer once told her that he "wants to break my rib and barbecue and eat it," alongside other emotional abuse accusations. Brettler told People at the time that "all interactions between Mr. Hammer and his former partners were consensual. They were fully discussed, agreed upon in advance with his partners, and mutually participatory."
Hammer told Air Mail that "the power dynamics were off" and he should have considered how his fame affected consent.
"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. That's an imbalance of power in the situation," he told the outlet.
He later added: "I had a very intense and extreme lifestyle and I would scoop up these women, bring them into it—into this whirlwind of travel and sex and drugs and big emotions flying around—and then as soon as I was done, I'd just drop them off and move on to the next woman, leaving that woman feeling abandoned or used."
When asked if he emotionally abused his accusers, Hammer told the outlet, "one million percent."
As a result of the allegations, Hammer said in February 2021 he experienced suicidal ideation while quarantining in the Cayman Islands.
"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 told Air Mail. "Then I realized that my kids were still on shore, and that I couldn't do that to my kids."
Hammer told Air Mail that his interest in BDSM began when he was 13, after experiencing sexual abuse at the hands of a youth pastor for nearly a year.
"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. "I was powerless in the situation. I had no agency in the situation. My interests then went to: I want to have control in the situation, sexually."
Hammer said attending therapy helped him draw a connection between his BDSM interests and abuse. He continued that the sexual abuse he faced as a child "set a dangerous precedent in my life."
Hammer's path to accountability may have included help from Robert Downey Jr., who outlets reported paid for Hammer's rehab. A source close to Hammer told Vanity Fair in July 2022 that Downey allowed Hammer to stay in one of his homes while recovering.
"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 told Air Mail. "The minute anyone does anything wrong, they're thrown away. There's no chance for rehabilitation. There's no chance for redemption. Someone makes a mistake, and we throw them away like a broken disposable camera."
In the article, Hammer contended that he doesn't want to be absolved from blame and found personal motivation by working as a sober companion with a fellow addict.
"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. And treated people more poorly than they should have been treated," Hammer told Air Mail.