Armie Hammer's first accuser comes forward, says he 'violently raped' her: 'I thought he was going to kill me'
Armie Hammer's first accuser, who was previously anonymous, came forward Thursday,
The woman, whose first name is Effie, was identified as a 24-year-old resident of Europe, and appeared at a news conference with her attorney, Gloria Allred. She did not give her last name, but she said she’d had a relationship with Hammer that was sometimes violent and abusive between 2016 and 2020, after they met on Facebook. She claimed that he "violently raped" her for four hours on April 24, 2017, in Los Angeles.
“I thought that he was going to kill me,” Effie said.
She alleged that Hammer “repeatedly slapped my head against a wall, bruising my face” and kept her from running away.
At the same time, the Los Angeles Police Department’s public information officer confirmed to Yahoo Entertainment that Hammer has been the suspect in an ongoing sexual assault investigation since Feb. 3.
That was the month after a social media account, @houseofeffie, began posting screenshots of messages they claimed Hammer has sent to various women. They included references to cannibalism and violence, and they were posted because the women decided collectively that it was time to speak out, the account owner said.
Effie reportedly did not disclose whether that was her.
Since those original accusations, other women have spoken out against Hammer. He’s since departed the Jennifer Lopez movie Shotgun Wedding, in which he had been set to co-star, and Variety reported that his agency, WME, has dropped him.
The star of The Social Network and Call Me by Your Name has denied the allegations.
’His attorney, Andrew Brettler, used Effie's last name in his response to the latest development, but we’ve redacted it, because she stated that she did not want it used.
“[Effie’s] own correspondence with Mr. Hammer undermines and refutes her outrageous allegations. As recently as July 18, 2020, [Effie] sent graphic texts to Mr. Hammer telling him what she wanted him to do to her. Mr. Hammer responded making it clear that he did not want to maintain that type of relationship with her. The screenshot below is just one of hundreds [Effie] sent to Mr. Hammer.”
Brettler included a screenshot of a text, which he said was one of hundreds that Effie sent the actor, in which she was propositioning him. He also provided an image of comments she supposedly made on Instagram in which she dismisses the idea that the encounter was not consensual.
“It was never Mr. Hammer’s intention to embarrass or expose [Effie’s] fetishes or kinky sexual desires, but she has now escalated this matter to another level by hiring a civil lawyer to host a public press conference,” Brettler says. “With the truth on his side, Mr. Hammer welcomes the opportunity to set the record straight.
“From day one, Mr. Hammer has maintained that all of his interactions with [Effie] — and every other sexual partner of his for that matter — have been completely consensual, discussed and agreed upon in advance, and mutually participatory. [Effie's] attention-seeking and ill-advised legal bid will only make it more difficult for real victims of sexual violence to get the justice they deserve.”
According to TMZ, Allred stated that Effie has provided evidence to authorities, but she’s not planning to file a lawsuit.
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