Armie Hammer accused of ‘violently’ raping young woman: ‘I thought he was going to kill me’
Armie Hammer. (STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN/AFP via Getty Images)
American actor Armie Hammer is under investigation following accusations of rape, the Los Angeles authorities said Thursday (18 March).
Identified only as “Effie”, the 24-year-old has alleged that Hammer, 34, raped her while they briefly dated in 2017. Hammer was married at the time to now ex-wife Elizabeth Chambers.
Effie, then 20, met Hammer on Facebook, she explained at a Zoom press conference earlier that day. “I fell in love with him instantly,” she recalled, according to The Guardian.
But over time, things changed. “I thought he was going to kill me,” she said, describing how Hammer allegedly raped her for four hours.
During which, she claimed, he “repeatedly slammed” her face against a wall, bruising her, along with other “violent acts”.
Effie accused Hammer of abusing her “mentally, emotionally and sexually”.
The Call Me by Your Name star has denied any wrongdoing, his attorney said. Shrugging off the claims as “attention-seeking”.
What has Armie Hammer been accused of?
Armie Hammer is the main suspect in a sexual assault case reported 3 February, the Los Angeles Police Department confirmed.
Effie alleged that as she was dating Hammer, he would use “manipulation tactics in order to exert control over me”.
One of which, she said, was urging her to “test my devotion to him, finally removing and crossing my boundaries as he became increasingly more violent”.
The rape incident occurred 24 April 2017 in Los Angeles, Effie alleged. “I tried to get away and he wouldn’t let me,” she claimed.
“He then left with no concern for my wellbeing. I was completely in shock and I couldn’t believe that someone I loved did that to me.”
In the years since, Effie has been rattled by “immense guilt” for not speaking out sooner and has struggled with suicidal ideation since.
Effie’s attorney, women’s rights lawyer Gloria Allred, confirmed she has passed all relevant details, including a photograph of Effie’s alleged injuries, to the force.
During the conference, which Allred hosted, she showed members of the press a photograph of Effie and Hammer together.
Have the actor’s lawyers responded?
Legal representatives of Armie Hammer have sought to dampen Effie’s explosive accusations, stressing that she was “completely consensual, discussed and agreed upon in advance, and mutually participatory”.
Moreover, Hammer’s lawyer Andrew Brettler sent a screen capture of a purported text exchange between the pair to multiple press outlets, which, he said, “undermines and refutes her own outrageous allegations”.
“It was never Mr Hammer’s intention to embarrass or expose [the woman]’s fetishes or kinky sexual desires, but she has now escalated this matter to another level by hiring a civil lawyer to host a public press conference,” Brettler added.
Armie Hammer (Getty)
“With the truth on his side, Mr Hammer welcomes the opportunity to set the record straight.
“[Her] attention-seeking and ill-advised legal bid will only make it more difficult for real victims of sexual violence to get the justice they deserve,” the statement continued.
It’s the latest accusation of sexual misconduct against Hammer. In disturbing claims, many of the women describe Hammer as a powerful, emotional tactician with cannibalistic tendencies.
He has grisly sexual interests, the women have claimed, which includes various edgeplay, or extreme BDSM sexual behaviours, such as blood, violence, rape and cannibalism.
Some victims have reported that Hammer wanted to “cut off” their toes or refer to themselves as “slaves” and he their “master”. In others, he talked about “consuming” women or “breaking their ribs” to “barbecue and eat it”.
Armie Hammer has repeatedly denied the claims, calling them “bulls**t” and clarifying that he is “100 per cent not a cannibal“.
