Actor Armie Hammer said being 'canceled' is 'incredibly liberating'
Armie Hammer's lifestyle was much different before his public cancellation led to him being "broke."
"The Lone Ranger" star revealed he experienced an "ego death," a "career death" and "financial death" after multiple women came forward claiming he was into "cannabalism" and that they'd been sexually abused by Hammer.
Hammer explained that he is now broke after the sexual abuse allegations came to light in January 2021. He confirmed to Bill Maher during a "Club Random" podcast episode that he did not receive any money from his family.
"Someone might look at me and go, 'Yeah, but financially, you're in a very different position than you've ever been in your entire life,'" the actor explained later in the interview. "And I look at that and I go, 'Yeah, And you know what it's taught me is that I don't need that because I've never been happier than I've ever been in my entire life.'"
ARMIE HAMMER'S EX ELIZABETH CHAMBERS DETAILS DIVORCE ‘RIDDLED WITH SCANDAL’: ‘ABSOLUTE HELL’
Armie Hammer claims he's "broke" following his 2021 cancelation. (Terence Patrick/CBS via Getty Images)
Hammer also said his lifestyle leading up to this moment would have led to "death" if he hadn't been canceled.
"My life would have kept going exactly as it was," he told Maher. "And I know that that would ultimately lead in one place and that's death."
The "Call Me by Your Name" star admitted his behavior at the time "was stupid."
"My life was going on a certain way and there was – it's Newton's laws right. An object in motion is going to remain in motion unless acted upon by an outside force," he explained. "My life was in motion. I was making a lot of money. I was drinking a lot. I was doing a lot of drugs. I was partying hard. I was being real fast and loose about what I put in text messages. And I was also engaging in risky behavior that, if you really think about it, was stupid."
The actor claimed he is "happier than ever" years after multiple women publicly claimed he was into cannibalism. (Mega/GC Images)
For Hammer, he isn't sure there is a direct link between his past trauma and his behavior.
"I think a lot of the behavior I was engaging in was coming from extenuating circumstances," Hammer told Maher. "Whether it be a certain displeasure about my own life – whether it be, you know, fueled by…"
Maher cut Hammer off and brought up the alleged abuse the actor experienced as a 13-year-old at the hands of a clergy member.
"It was something I never, ever spoke about and was never open about and never OK with and had so much shame about," Hammer admitted. "Like, what does that say about me? And the answer is, it doesn't f---ing say anything about me."
ARMIE HAMMER HAS BEEN ‘CUT OFF’ FROM FAMILY DYNASTY
Armie Hammer said he was engaging in "stupid" behavior before he was canceled in 2021. (Christopher Polk/E! Entertainment/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)
Hammer exited two major projects – a romcom involving Jennifer Lopez and a series following the making of "The Godfather" – after the alleged sexual abuse and cannibalism fantasy controversy in January 2021. However, he said the freedom he now has from being "canceled" is "incredibly liberating."
"Because so much of my life leading up to there, it was two things," Hammer explained. "It was being preoccupied with how I was perceived, which now you don't have to care about. Once everyone just decides that they hate you, you go, ‘Oh, well then I don’t need anything from you people any way. I guess I should just learn to be content with myself.'"
"And then you go do that and it feels f---ing amazing," he continued. "And then when anybody says anything to you afterwards, they go, 'I don't like you.' You go, 'OK, I don't care.' Like your opinion is yours and you're allowed to have it. I just don't agree. But before I needed that, I needed that validation."
Armie Hammer exited two films after he was accused of sexual abuse. (Getty Images)
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Multiple women accused Hammer of sharing sexual fantasies with them that involved cannibalism. The first allegation came from the anonymous Instagram account House of Effie. Unverified screenshots allegedly showed messages sent from Hammer to an unidentified woman detailing BDSM acts and admitting the actor was "100% a cannibal."
Paige Lorenze, the actor's ex-girlfriend, claimed Hammer had a desire to smoke and eat her ribs, which was "definitely disturbing."
"He was talking about finding a doctor to remove my ribs that I don't need – the ribs that are on the bottom – and that he had a smoker at his house. He wanted to smoke them and eat them," Lorenze previously told Fox News Digital. "He wondered how they would taste, and he basically was like, 'I bet you they would taste good.'"
Armie Hammer's ex-wife, Elizabeth Chambers, filed for divorce amid the sexual abuse allegations. (Getty Images)
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At least two other women came forward with similar stories and the actor was also accused of rape. Hammer denied all allegations at the time.
In 2023, the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office announced Hammer would not face any charges related to the allegations.
"Sexual assault cases are often difficult to prove, which is why we assign our most experienced prosecutors to review them," spokesperson Tiffiny Blacknell told Fox News Digital at the time. "In this case, those prosecutors conducted an extremely thorough review but determined that, at this time, there is insufficient evidence to charge Mr. Hammer with a crime."
