Celebrities

A complete timeline of the Armie Hammer controversy

Armie Hammer has faced a mounting series of allegations from former partners
Armie Hammer has faced a mounting series of allegations from former partners
David Livingston/Getty Images

Armie Hammer is facing fresh allegations over his sexual conduct after a woman claimed he raped her in Los Angeles.

In January, multiple former partners came forward to accuse the Call Me By Your Name actor of abusive behaviour during their relationships.

Shortly afterwards, private messages allegedly written by the 34-year-old actor, referencing sexual fantasies including cannibalism, leaked online via an anonymous Instagram account – further intensifying the social media frenzy surrounding him.

Hammer denounced the allegations as "bulls*** claims", before dropping out of upcoming film Shotgun Wedding, saying: "In light of the vicious and spurious online attacks against me, I cannot in good conscience now leave my children for four months to shoot a film in the Dominican Republic."

He was later dropped by his talent agency and his publicist.

Then, in another bombshell allegation yesterday, a 24-year-old named only as Effie, said Hammer raped her in 2017.

With as-yet unsubstantiated rumours swirling on social media – increasingly centred around Deux Moi, a celebrity gossip Instagram account which shared screenshots from people claiming to be aware of new and more serious allegations – here's a timeline of everything we know so far about the claims against Hammer.

10 January

An anonymous Instagram account @HouseofEffie, run by a person who claimed to have been in a relationship with Hammer for four years while he was married to ex-wife Elizabeth Charmers, posted screenshots of messages allegedly sent by Hammer to her and five other women.

Some of the messages centred around fantasies of non-consensual violence, rape and cannibalism.

"Women approached me with their affair stories as we talked overwhelmed with grief for days and nights without sleeping or eating, with some ending up in the ER," the person behind the account wrote in one Instagram story.

"We collectively decided we have to speak out after how we were treated and seeing how the women in 2020 were being treated by him. We cannot allow more women to endure what we are going through in the future."

While the account is now private, a Twitter account with the same handle has indicated that they have more purported screenshots in their possession.

14 January

Hammer's recent partner, Courtney Vucekovich, told Page Six that she was unsurprised by the allegations on social media, saying: “He likes the idea of skin in his teeth.”

Alleging that Hammer was a skilled and persuasive manipulator, she said: "He said to me he wants to break my rib and barbecue and eat it."

The 30-year-old founder of lifestyle app Flashd added: "If I had a little cut on my hand, he’d like suck it or lick it. That’s about as weird as we got."

Vocekovich said that she had checked herself into a 30-day programme for PTSD and trauma following their relationship.

Also on 14 January, Hammer announced he would be dropping out of Shotgun Wedding, in which he was due to star opposite Jennifer Lopez, and gave the statement calling the allegations "bulls*** claims".

25 January

Paige Lorenze, a 22-year-old student who reportedly dated Hammer for four months in 2020, told Page Six that Hammer had encouraged her to engage in knife play she believed was partly aimed at "marking and branding" her.

Lorenze alleged that Hammer carved the letter "A" into her groin and had taken and sent non-consensual photos of her tied up.

Hammer “built up my trust to ease me into darker things”, Lorenze said, adding: “[He] knew what he was doing and knew how to get me to do these things, he was smart about it.”

In response, an attorney for Hammer called the claims "patently untrue", adding: "Any interactions with this person, or any partner of his, were completely consensual in that they were fully discussed, agreed upon, and mutually participatory. 

"The stories being perpetuated in the media are a misguided attempt to present a one-sided narrative with the goal of tarnishing Mr. Hammer’s reputation, and communications from the individuals involved prove that."

28 January

Variety reported that Hammer was also dropping out of Godfather documentary series, The Offer.

1 February

Elizabeth Chalmers, Hammer's ex-wife and the mother of his two children, took to Instagram to comment on the allegations for the first time, saying she was "shocked, heartbroken, and devastated".

Chalmers, who split with Hammer in 2020, wrote: "Heartbreak aside, I am listening, and will continue to listen and educate myself on these delicate matters. I didn’t realise how much I didn’t know ... My sole focus and attention will continue to be on our children, on my work and on healing during this incredibly difficult time."

5 February

It emerged that Hammer had been dropped by his talent agency William Morris Endeavour. The Hollywood Reporter and Variety also reported that his personal publicist had "stepped away".

6 February

Social media was set abuzz after celebrity gossip Instagram account Deux Moi posted comments it had received from four anonymous people claiming to have knowledge that the allegations were about to deepen. There is currently no evidence to suggest this is the case.

8 February

The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Office reportedly told The Sun that Hammer was not a suspect in a Wonder Valley murder case, after some social media users speculated this location was close to where Hammer had allegedly taken a construction role late last year.

“Armie Hammer’s name hasn’t come up as a suspect at all. We have no plans to investigate him," the paper reported the sheriff's office as saying.

18 March

Hammer is accused of raping a woman in Los Angeles.

The woman, a 24-year-old named only as Effie, made the allegations during a virtual press conference held by high-profile US lawyer Gloria Allred. The accuser broke down while reading a prepared statement.

Hammer’s lawyer Andrew Brettler described the allegations as “outrageous” and said his client “welcomes the opportunity to set the record straight”.

The Los Angeles Police Department said it had opened a sexual assault investigation over the alleged rape, said to have taken place in 2017.

A spokesman said officers were contacted by an attorney “representing a female in the community” on February 3. He added a sexual assault investigation is under way and no further details would be released at this time.

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