(MAINNEWS) – Armie Hammer is finally breaking his silence on misconduct allegations, admitting in his first interview post-scandal that he contemplated suicide from all the backlash.
“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 embattled actor, who was living in the Cayman Islands to escape media scrutiny in February 2021, told Air Mail.
“Then I realized that my kids were still on shore, and that I couldn’t do that to my kids.”
Hammer – who shares two children, Harper, 8, and Ford, 6, with ex Elizabeth Chambers – has been the subject of an ongoing LAPD investigation after being accused of rape by a woman named Effie. Backlash began in January 2021 when multiple women accused him of s-exual misconduct, exposing his alleged cannibalistic fetishism and BDSM fantasies.
“I would have these younger women in their mid-20s, and I’m in my 30s,” he said, referencing the age gap in his relationships with alleged victims like Courtney Vucekovich and Paige Lorenze.
“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.”
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While the “Call Me By Your Name” star vehemently denied any criminal wrongdoing, he admitted to the outlet that he has been emotionally abusive toward 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,” Hammer, 36, said.
“I’m now a healthier, happier, more balanced person. I’m able to be there for my kids in a way I never was,” he added. “I’m truly grateful for my life and my recovery and everything. I would not go back and undo everything that’s happened to me.”
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In the lengthy interview, Hammer also claimed that he was s-exually abused by a youth pastor when he was just 13 years old. He believes the traumatic experience was the reason behind his own twisted fantasies later on in life.
“What that did for me was it introduced s-exuality into my life in a way that it was completely out of my control. I was powerless in the situation. I had no agency in the situation,” he explained.
“S-exuality was introduced to me in a scary way where I had no control. My interests then went to: I want to have control in the situation, s-exually.”
As NEWS previously reported, Hammer has been keeping a low profile ever since allegations of s-exual abuse and inappropriate behavior from multiple women first surfaced.
Amid the backlash, the “Social Network” star was dropped by his personal publicist – along with his former agency, WME – and was let go of various projects.
Chambers, whom he was married to for 10 years, also filed to divorce him months before the scandal went public. Of where things stand between the two currently, the Bird Bakery founder told E! News in September 2022 that they’re “in a really great place” and talk all the time.
“We’re committed fully and wholly to our children,” Chambers, 40, added. “And to being together as much as possible in a non-romantic way for our kids.”
Hammer told Air Mail that he’s now finding purpose by acting as a sober companion to a fellow recovering addict he recently met through his own sobriety journey.
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“I’m going to move in with him and live with him, get him on a healthy routine, get him into a good schedule of [recovery] meetings, take him to the gym, cook healthy food for him,” he shared. “It feels like my recovery has taken a turn from me being the one who needs help staying sober, to me being able to help others.”
By Desiree Murphy
