Armie Hammer will not face charges on allegations of sexual assault in Los Angeles. The county D.A.’s office declined to move forward following an investigation by the LAPD.
The accuser, previously identified as Effie, reported Hammer to the police in February 2021. She alleged that Hammer had been physically abusive during their on-and-off relationship, which spanned four years. She also claimed he raped her in 2017. Hammer has continuously denied her allegations.
Following Effie’s accusation and those of other women, Hammer’s acting career halted overnight. He was replaced by Josh Duhamel in the Jennifer Lopez-starring “Shotgun Wedding” and then replaced by Miles Teller in Paramount+’s “The Godfather” miniseries, “The Offer.” WME dropped him and he has not been onscreen since the long-delayed (due to the COVID pandemic) “Death on the Nile.” That Kenneth Branagh-directed mystery thriller was initially intended for December 2019 and finally opened theatrically in February 2022.
“Sexual assault cases are often difficult to prove, which is why we assign our most experienced prosecutors to review them,” declared a statement provided by Bureau of Communications director Tiffany Blackwell. “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.”
Furthermore, the statement continued, “As prosecutors, we have an ethical responsibility to only charge cases that we can prove beyond a reasonable doubt. We know that it is hard for women to report sexual assault. Even when we cannot move forward with a prosecution, our victim service representatives will be available to those who seek our victim support services. Due to the complexity of the relationship and inability to prove a nonconsensual, forcible sexual encounter, we are unable to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Hammer has consistently denied wrongdoing and has maintained that all sexual relationships were consensual. He gave his first interview in February to Air Mail, where he admitted previously contemplating suicide. He again denied criminal behavior and admitted to being an “a–hole” and “selfish” while living a “very intense and extreme lifestyle.”
In that same interview, Hammer said he has improved through his recovery and was working as a sober companion to a fellow recovering addict out of rehab. He said Robert Downey Jr. supported him through rehab.
Hammer also spoke against so-called “cancel culture,” saying, “The minute anyone does anything wrong, they’re thrown away. There’s no chance for rehabilitation.”
At the time of publication, there was no additional comment by or on behalf of Hammer.
Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.
