Armie Hammer moved away from his role alongside Jennifer Lopez in the upcoming “Marriage Shotgun”, condemning “vicious and spurious online attacks” against him as the cause.
Hammer was scheduled to begin production of the romantic adventure right away, but it will now be overhauled. The news came after the “Call Me by Your Name” star started to become a trend on social media last weekend, after direct messages on Instagram that appeared to have been written by Hammer – which were not verified – were posted.
“I am not responding to these shitty allegations, but in light of the wicked and spurious online attacks against me, I cannot, in good conscience, leave my children for 4 months to make a film in the Dominican Republic. Lionsgate is supporting me in this and I am grateful to them for that, ”said Hammer in a statement.
A production representative said, “Armie asked to stay away from the film and we support him in his decision.”
The messages shared explicit sexual fantasies, reaching cannibalism, with the actor appearing to write to a woman on the app that he is “100% cannibal” and wants to “drink your blood”.
Hammer was most recently seen on Netflix’s “Rebecca” and is also expected to reprise his role in the sequel to “Call Me by Your Name” with Timothée Chalamet and directed by Luca Guadagnino. He is also set to star in the Paramount Plus TV series “The Offer”, the backstage story of “The Godfather” production.
Elizabeth Wagmeister and Ellise Shafer contributed to this report.