Armie Hammer has dropped out of a Broadway production of the play “The Minutes,” which was written by Tracy Letts and was meant to reopen at the Steppenwolf Theatre in 2022.
Hammer is leaving the project following accusations of sexual assault against him; he is also facing a sexual assault investigation by the LAPD. The actor and his attorney have repeatedly denied all accusations of misconduct.
“I have loved every single second of working on ‘The Minutes’ with the family I made from Steppenwolf. But right now I need to focus on myself and my health for the sake of my family. Consequently, I will not be returning to Broadway with the production,” Hammer said in a statement posted to Broadway’s Best Shows.
“Armie remains a valued colleague to all of us who have worked with him onstage and offstage on ‘The Minutes.’ We wish only the best for him and respect his decision,” the producing team of the show, led by Jeffrey Richards, said in a statement.
“The Minutes” first premiered at Steppenwolf Theatre Company in 2017, and the latest production was in previews in March before Broadway went dark. It was then announced that it would reopen in March 2022. The production is still on track for the 2021-2022 season.
Hammer appeared in the original production alongside a cast that included Letts, Ian Barford, Blair Brown, Cliff Chamberlain, K. Todd Freeman, Danny McCarthy, Jessie Mueller, Sally Murphy, Austin Pendleton and Jeff Still. The show is directed by Anna D. Shapiro.
“The Minutes” is about the inner workings of a city council meeting in a small town and how the worst vices surface after a newcomer starts to ask the wrong questions.
Hammer most recently was dropped from the film “The Billion Dollar Spy,” and he’s similarly been replaced in the Watergate series “Gaslit,” the Jennifer Lopez comedy “Shotgun Wedding” and the Paramount+ series based on the making of “The Godfather,” and he was also dropped by his agency WME. Hammer has been in a career crisis since the Instagram account House of Effie surfaced leaked messages that purported to detail his sex life, including an interest in cannibalism and rape fantasies.
Hammer released a statement shortly after he dropped out of Lionsgate’s “Shotgun Wedding” amid the firestorm, vehemently denying the accusations. “I’m not responding to these bulls- claims but in light of the vicious and spurious online attacks against me, I cannot in good conscience now leave my children for 4 months to shoot a film in the Dominican Republic. Lionsgate is supporting me in this and I’m grateful to them for that,” he previously said.
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