Armie Hammer was dropped by the WME, Variety Learned. According to a well-informed source, Hammer’s personal aide is also moving away.
WME split from the actor after continuing accusations against the actor that surfaced on social media last month.
In messages posted on social media, which Hammer did not verify, the actor would have had numerous conversations of a sexually explicit nature, showing cannibalistic fetishes, where he would have expressed his sexual appetite for drinking blood, cutting off toes and enslaving sexual partners. Hammer described fantasies of rape in the messages.
The lewd accusations, first posted on the anonymous Instagram account House of Effie, have been the subject of rampant coverage in the tabloids, but women say there is more to the scandalous allegations than meets the eye. At least three former Hammer partners say he used his sexual tendency as a smokescreen, accusing him of emotional abuse, manipulation and coercion.
Hammer initially stated that he refused to respond to “shitty allegations” and his team denies any allegations of abuse, calling any statement “patently false”, stating that any interaction with any sexual partner from his “completely consensual in the sense that they were fully discussed, agreed and mutually participatory ”.
A Hammer lawyer, Andrew Brettler of Lavely and Singer, said earlier Variety, “The stories perpetuated in the media are a misguided attempt to present a one-sided narrative with the aim of tarnishing Mr. Hammer’s reputation, and the communications of the people involved prove it.”
Although Hammer’s team maintained their innocence, the allegations quickly resulted in Hammer’s withdrawal from two high-profile projects: the romantic comedy “Shotgun Wedding”, in which he was originally scheduled to star opposite Jennifer Lopez, and the Paramount series “The Offer”, which is about the production of “The Godfather”.
Although Hammer categorized his departure from “Shotgun Wedding” as his own decision, thanking Lionsgate for letting him leave the project, several well-placed sources said Variety the actor was asked to leave the film, in addition to “The offer”.
Next, Hammer has a series of projects on his list – many of which have already been filmed, which will cause headaches for studio executives, who will have to struggle to discover marketing plans and press tours.
Next month, Hammer will be seen in the lower-budget film “Crisis”, alongside Gary Oldman and Evangeline Lilly. This fall, Hammer will star in Disney’s “Death on the Nile”, the sequel to “Murder on the Orient Express”, alongside Gal Gadot and Kenneth Branagh. Hammer also finished filming Taika Waititi’s comedy Searchlight Pictures, “Next Goal Wins”, which he filmed last year, although he plays a minor character.
Hammer has also participated in two films that have not yet gone into production, and whether he will remain on these projects remains to be seen. The actor was cast in the Cold War thriller “Billion Dollar Spy” by Amma Asante, which is in pre-production, and the long-awaited, though unconfirmed, sequel to “Call Me By Your Name”. The directors of both films declined to comment on Hammer’s status in their projects.
Hammer firing by WME occurs a day later Variety published a business-oriented report entitled Armie Hammer’s career in Hollywood is in freefall as the sex scandal explodes on social media, which focused on the consequences of Hammer’s career following the allegations, critically analyzing the way Hollywood dealt with the situation. At the time to VarietyIn the report, Hammer was still a customer of WME. An agency source said on Friday that WME had been having conversations about Hammer’s status as a client, as he saw more and more stories surfacing on social media with women performing, accusing the actor of abuse, manipulation and coercion.
Hammer is in the midst of a public divorce with television presenter, journalist and businesswoman Elizabeth Chambers, who is also a client of WME. The couple has two small children.
Although Chambers remained silent about the accusations, she posted on her Instagram this week, saying she is shocked, heartbroken and devastated.
“Disgust aside, I am listening and will continue to listen and educate myself on these sensitive issues. I didn’t realize how much I didn’t know, ”posted Chambers. “I support any victim of aggression or abuse and I urge everyone who has been through this pain to seek the help they need to heal. At this point, I will not comment further on this subject. “
THR first reported on Hammer’s departure from the WME.