Armie Hammer has spoken out about the allegations that derailed his Hollywood career, saying he is now “grateful” for everything he’s been through over the past three years. During an interview on the ‘Painful Lessons’ podcast, the 37-year-old actor reflected on the cannibalism allegations that emerged in 2021, calling the situation “hilarious.” “People called me a cannibal and everyone believed them. They said ‘Yeah, that guy ate people,'” Hammer said, laughing. “How? What are you guys talking about? You know what you have to do to be a cannibal? You have to eat people! How do I become a cannibal?! It was bizarre.”
The protagonist of Luca Guadagnino’s ‘Call Me by Your Name’ was accused of sexual abuse and bad behavior by several women in the same year. Some of his private messages that he allegedly sent to women were also released online. Following the scandal, Hammer was dropped by his agency, WME, and exited several projects, including Paramount+ series ‘The Offer’ and Jennifer Lopez’s ‘Shotgun Wedding’.
Nonetheless, he said, “I’m now at a point in my life where I’m grateful for every single part of it,” Hammer said, noting that before all this happened, “I didn’t feel good. I never felt satisfied, I didn’t have never enough. I was never happy anywhere. I never knew how to give myself love and I didn’t know how to give it.” The accusations caused “ego death, career death” and he eventually entered a 12-step program. “It’s like a bomb went off in my life,” he said, noting many of the people he considered friends have disappeared.
“But I’m still here, I still have my health and I’m really grateful for that,” he added while admitting that his acting career is going “nowhere” because he’s not “a viable commodity” to the “system of Hollywood”.
