Armie Hammer has addressed sexual abuse allegations made against him for the first time.
Back in early 2021, several women came forward accusing the Call Me by Your Name actor of sexual misconduct and allegedly sending them messages centred around BDSM and cannibalistic fetishism.
Hammer has denied the allegations, but in a statement to Air Mail published on Saturday, he admitted to being emotionally abusive towards former partners.
“I’m here to own my mistakes, take accountability for the fact that I was an a**hole, that I was selfish, that I used people to make me feel better, and when I was done, moved on,” he said. “And treated people more poorly than they should have been treated.”
As part of the interview, Hammer refuted allegations made against him by a woman named Effie, including that he had raped her. He maintained their encounter was a “scene” they had planned in advance via social media.
“Every single thing was discussed beforehand,” the 36-year-old continued. “I have never thrust this on someone unexpectedly. Never.”
Hammer also claimed the origins of his interest in BDSM stemmed from a period of sexual abuse by a youth pastor when he was 13.
“What that did for me was it introduced sexuality into my life in a way that it was completely out of my control,” he claimed. “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.'”
Elsewhere in the article, Hammer recalled how he contemplated committing suicide while he was in the Cayman Islands in February 2021.
“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,” the actor recalled. “Then I realised that my kids were still on shore, and that I couldn’t do that to my kids.”
Hammer shares two children with his estranged wife Elizabeth Chambers.
Investigators at the Los Angeles Police Department launched an investigation into the claims against The Social Network star in March 2021. To date, no charges have been made.
