Paige Lorenze, another one of Hammer’s exes, then came forward with a disturbing account of Hammer carving an “A” into her and said, “His actions and behavior are dangerous and emotionally and psychologically damaging. He is saying people are kink-shaming him and should not comment on his sex life, but BDSM is a smoke screen for him wanting to hurt women. You can be just as traumatized by consensual sex. It’s unacceptable that he coerces women into agreeing to let him hurt them.” Hammer’s lawyer called the allegations “patently untrue” and maintained that “interactions with this person, or any partner of his, were completely consensual.” Hammer was then accused of rape by a woman named Effie, who alleged an incident in 2017. Hammer denied the allegations and maintained that everything was consensual. In writing about Hammer, I have been keen to avoid the details of his alleged cannibalism fetish. This is for good reason: I feel as if coverage of Hammer has often salaciously focused on the kink aspect without sufficiently exploring the underlying claims that Hammer violated people’s consent. I, quite frankly, do not care if Hammer has a penchant for cannibal role-play. I deeply care whether he abused women. By going from specifics (Hammer, by his own admission, emotionally abused women) to the broader picture (the indefinable “cancel culture” debate), Hammer minimizes his own actions. What should we do with people who are “canceled”? I have no idea! What should we do with Hammer specifically? I would argue, at the very least, that he should not be entrusted with Hollywood power (more on that later). This line of logic echoes what Hammer’s lawyer, Andrew Brettler, said of Effie’s allegations after the press conference where Effie first made the allegations of rape: “Effie’s … own correspondence with Mr. Hammer undermines and refutes her outrageous allegations.” The thing is, this doesn’t necessarily refute what Effie has said. “I tried so hard to justify his actions, even to the point of responding to him in a way that did not reflect my true feelings,” she said in the aforementioned press conference. “I have lived in fear of him, and I have tried to dismiss his actions as a twisted kind of love. His abuse traumatized me.” That Effie would downplay a traumatizing event to Hammer’s then-wife or to seemingly random Instagram followers is plausible. Lorenze is given a similar treatment for once saying that Hammer was “really great.” There is no such thing as a “perfect victim,” and the implication that victims must behave in certain ways to be deemed believable has very real repercussions in courts of law. The thing is, it is common for people to protect their abusers or remain in a relationship with them. These messages aren’t some “gotcha” or proof that the women are lying. Hammer isn’t gunning for a public comeback, at least not yet (emphasis on the “yet,"’ as the profile states he would “relish the opportunity to return”). According to Air Mail, Call Me by Your Name director Luca Guadagnino recently said that he “cannot wait to work with Armie as soon as I have a great role for [him].” He is not entirely bereft of supporters, and some people used #SupportArmieHammer following the publication of the piece. Indeed, I have yet to report about a high-profile man who has been accused of abuse who does not have a following, however small, maintaining that he is the real victim amid all of this. If you or someone you know has experienced sexual assault, you can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE, which routes the caller to their nearest sexual assault service provider. You can also search for your local center here. If you are concerned that a child is experiencing or may be in danger of abuse, you can call or text the National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422-2253 (4.A.CHILD); service can be provided in over 140 languages. If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, you can call SAMHSA’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357) and find more resources here.
