Armie Hammer has broken his silence, after being accused of sexual misconduct and rape.
In 2021, multiple women accused the Call Me By Your Name star of sexual misconduct, and one of them accused the actor of raping her back in 2016.
The Los Angeles Police Department launched a sexual assault investigation into the woman’s accusations, and it remains ongoing.
Armie, whose rep previously denied the woman’s “outrageous” accusations, is now speaking out about the allegations for the first time in a new interview with Air Mail magazine.
The 36-year-old revealed he was sexually abused by a youth pastor at the age of 13, and said the incident first spurred his interest in BDSM.
He told the outlet: “Sexuality was introduced to me in a scary way where I had no control. My interests then went to: I want to have control in the situation, sexually.”
AIR MAIL special report: Armie Hammer breaks his silence. https://t.co/ojCXquzTZG
— Air Mail (@AirMailWeekly) February 4, 2023
The actor denied any criminal wrongdoing, but acknowledged “one million percent” that he was emotionally abusive to his accusers.
He said there was an “imbalance of power”, noting that they were a decade younger than him and that he was a “successful actor at the time” they were involved.
Armie, who split from his wife Elizabeth Chambers in 2020, also revealed that he contemplated taking his own life shortly after the allegations against him went viral.
The father-of-two said: “I just walked out into the ocean and swam out as far as I could and hoped that either I drowned, or was hit by a boat, or eaten by a shark. Then I realized that my kids were still on shore, and that I couldn’t do that to my kids.”
Armie, who underwent rehab for “drug, alcohol and sex issues” following the scandal, added that he wants to “take accountability for the fact that I was an a**hole, that I was selfish, that I used people to make me feel better, and when I was done, moved on.”
“I’m now a healthier, happier, more balanced person. I’m able to be there for my kids in a way I never was.”
