Armie Hammer will not face sexual assault charges following a two-year-long investigation.
The actor said he’s “very grateful” to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office for its decision not to charge him over the allegations he faced.
The father-of-two said he was looking forward to “beginning what will be a long, difficult process of putting my life back together” now that his name has been cleared.
In 2021, multiple women accused Armie of sexual misconduct, and one of them accused the actor of raping her back in 2016.
The Los Angeles Police Department then launched a sexual assault investigation into the woman’s accusations.
On Wednesday, the district attorney’s office said prosecutors had conducted an “extremely thorough review” into the allegations, but that there was “insufficient evidence” to charge the actor.
Tiffiny Blacknell, director of the bureau of communications, said: “Sexual assault cases are often difficult to prove, which is why we assign our most experienced prosecutors to review them.”
“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,” Ms Blackwell 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 non-consensual, forcible sexual encounter we are unable to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt.”
In a statement shared to his Instagram, Armie wrote: “I am very grateful to the District Attorney for conducting a thorough investigation and coming to the conclusion that I have stood by this entire time, that no crime was committed.
“I look forward to beginning of what will be a long, difficult process of putting my life back together now that my name is cleared.”
“I would like to say a very special thank you to all of the people who have helped me get through this time. Onwards and upwards.”
In February, Armie spoke out about the allegations for the first time in an interview with Air Mail magazine.
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Armie 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.”
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.”
