Armie Hammer made headlines in 2021 when he was accused of sexual assault and violent sexual fantasies amid his divorce from his ex-wife, Elizabeth Chambers.
The Call Me By Your Name actor split from his wife in July 2020 and six months later, the first allegations of his alleged cannibalistic fantasies surfaced. Throughout January 2021, more women came forward, claiming Hammer liked to partake in dramatic BDSM and cannibalistic fantasies.
In March 2021, Effie, who initially shared the anonymous allegations against Hammer, accused the actor of raping and physically abusing her. In a statement provided to PEOPLE, Hammer's lawyer Andrew Brettler denied the allegations and confirmed that Hammer’s relationship with Effie was "completely consensual, discussed and agreed upon in advance, and mutually participatory."
Despite the accusations, Hammer was never charged. In April 2023, the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office confirmed he was being investigated over claims of sexual assault, but there ultimately was not sufficient evidence for a case.
So where is Armie Hammer now? Here’s everything to know about the actor’s life in the Cayman Islands since his 2021 controversy.
What was Armie Hammer accused of? Armie Hammer poses for a photo at BOSS Menswear - Front Row at New York Fashion Week Mens' on February 7, 2018 in New York City.Mike Coppola/Getty
In January 2021, an Instagram account named House of Effie shared an anonymous tip that showed alleged messages shared by the actor displaying his BDSM and cannibalistic fantasies. The following day, Hammer announced he was stepping away from shooting Lionsgate’s Shotgun Wedding opposite Jennifer Lopez.
"I'm not responding to these bull— claims but in light of the vicious and spurious online attacks against me, I cannot in good conscience now leave my children for 4 months to shoot a film in the Dominican Republic,” he said in a statement obtained by PEOPLE. "Lionsgate is supporting me in this and I'm grateful to them for that.”
After one of his ex-girlfriends came forward and alleged "their romance was like dating a wannabe Hannibal Lecter" to Page Six, Hammer exited another project, The Offer.
In March 2021, Effie, the girl who ran the House of Effie account whose legal name was not disclosed, accused Hammer of allegedly raping and abusing her in their on-and-off four-year affair, which took place during the Death on the Nile actor’s marriage to Chambers.
"On April 24th, 2017, Armie Hammer violently raped me for over four hours in Los Angeles, during which he repeatedly slammed my head against a wall, bruising my face," Effie said in a statement during a press conference. "He also committed other acts of violence against me to which I did not consent.”
Hammer denied the accusations, with his lawyer claiming that all of Hammer’s relationships and sexual experiences have been consensual.
"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,” he said in a statement.
The Rebecca actor was subsequently dropped from his remaining projects and announced he would not be returning to Broadway for The Minutes, which he was set to star in.
When did Armie Hammer split with his wife? Armie Hammer and Elizabeth Chambers attend the Hammer Museum 16th Annual Gala in the Garden on October 14, 2018 in Los Angeles, California.Emma McIntyre/Getty
Six months before the first allegations came out against Hammer, the actor announced that he and his wife had split in July 2020.
"Thirteen years as best friends, soulmates, partners and then parents,” they wrote in a statement on their respective Instagrams alongside a throwback picture of the two. “It has been an incredible journey, but together, we’ve decided to turn the page and move on from our marriage.”
A few days later, Chambers filed for divorce, requesting joint legal custody of their two children, Harper Grace and Ford Douglas Armand.
Chambers spoke out about the allegations against Hammer a month after they surfaced, writing a lengthy message on Instagram stating that she was unaware and that she supports “any victim of assault or abuse.”
"For weeks, I've been trying to process everything that has transpired. I am shocked, heartbroken, and devastated. Heartbreak aside, I am listening, and will continue to listen and educate myself on these delicate matters. I didn't realize how much I didn't know," she wrote in the caption.
What has Armie Hammer said about the accusations? Armie Hammer attends the 2020 E! People's Choice Awards held at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California and on broadcast on Sunday, November 15, 2020.Todd Williamson/E! Entertainment/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty
Though Hammer’s lawyer denied all the accusations, Hammer didn’t speak on them himself until February 2023 in an interview with Air Mail.
In the article, he denied that he ever sexually assaulted or abused anyone, but admitted that he did emotionally abuse his partners in his past relationships. He also directly addressed Effie’s accusations of rape, sharing that the situation was a planned “scene” they agreed upon beforehand and was fully consensual.
"She planned all of the details out, all the way down to what Starbucks I would see her at, how I would follow her home, how her front door would be open and unlocked and I would come in, and we would engage in what is called a 'consensual non-consent scene,' CNC," Hammer said. "Every single thing was discussed beforehand. I have never thrust this on someone unexpectedly. Never."
Hammer added that his penchant for BDSM came from a time he was sexually abused as a teenager by a youth pastor.
"What that did for me was it introduced sexuality into my life in a way that it was completely out of my control. I was powerless in the situation. I had no agency in the situation," he said. "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."
He admitted that in his other relationships — many of which took place while he was in his 30s and the women were in their 20s — “the power dynamics were off" since he was a successful actor taking them on extravagant trips, leading to a power imbalance.
"I had a very intense and extreme lifestyle, and I would scoop up these women, bring them into it —into this whirlwind of travel and sex and drugs and big emotions flying around — and then as soon as I was done, I'd just drop them off and move on to the next woman, leaving that woman feeling abandoned or used," he added.
What has Armie Hammer’s wife said since their divorce? Armie Hammer and Elizabeth Chambers attend the 2017 LACMA Art + Film gala on November 4, 2017 in Los Angeles, California.Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic
After the allegations against Hammer were brought to light, Chambers said she was focused on “healing” and by August 2021, was dating again, a source told PEOPLE.
In March 2022, Chambers shared a peek at her relationship with her estranged husband in her Instagram Stories as the two spent time with their children and were co-parenting together.
"We are in a really great place. We talk all the time," Chambers told E! News in a September 2022 cover story. "We're committed fully and wholly to our children and to being together as much as possible in a nonromantic way for our kids. Kids need their mom; kids need their dad. So there's nothing we won't do."
After facing some backlash from one of Hammer’s accusers for saying he "has been focused on his healing" in the E! News article, Chambers doubled down on her support for Hammer’s journey days after his Air Mail interview was published.
"All I've ever wanted is for him to be sober, healthy, and happy. And he is that," she told Elle. “He's really present when he's with the kids, and that's all I can hope for. All you want is for your children to have two solid parents, right? That's always the goal, so anything I can do to support that, I will."
In June 2023, the former couple’s divorce was finalized, three years after Chambers filed.
Chambers joined the cast of season 1 of Freeform’s reality TV show Grand Cayman: Secrets in Paradise, which started airing in April 2024. In the first episode, which was filmed in the spring of 2023, she reflected on the “absolute hell” that was her divorce.
"I moved here with my husband and children three years ago. But things have changed since then," Chambers said in the show, adding, "The 'Cayman Curse' is when a couple moves to the island together and then they end up separating or divorcing — and it tracks."
She reflected on the “painful period of time” during which her divorce played out on a “more public platform,” adding she “wouldn’t wish it upon anyone.”
"A lot of the trauma that I have experienced in the last two years is behind me," she said. "And now I think I'm very much at a place where I'm ready for a fresh start on the island."
Where is Armie Hammer now? Armie Hammer and his friends enjoying a day at the beach in Los Angeles in November 2023.Armie Hammer Instagram
In February 2023, Hammer was still living in the Cayman Islands where his family was also based, having exited a treatment facility for drug and alcohol abuse in December 2021. At the time, he told Air Mail he was sober and able to be more present in his relationship with his children and family.
He also told the outlet he was working as a sober companion for another recovering addict.
"I'm going to move in with him and live with him, get him on a healthy routine, get him into a good schedule of [recovery] meetings, take him to the gym, cook healthy food for him," Hammer said. "It feels like my recovery has taken a turn from me being the one who needs help staying sober, to me being able to help others."
The actor shared that he didn’t see himself returning to Hollywood as he couldn't book a job following his controversies.
"No one will hire me. No one will insure me. I can't get bonded for a project — nothing," he said. "And no one will touch me because if they hire me, then they are the people who support abusers."
A source had previously told PEOPLE that the actor was "cut off" by his family and was selling timeshares in the Cayman Islands for profit.
Two months after the article was published, CNN reported that Hammer was being investigated over claims of sexual assault by the L.A. District Attorney after the Los Angeles Police Department presented the case.
However, a month later Tiffiny Blacknell, director of the bureau of communications at LADA, told PEOPLE in a statement that the case would not be pursued.
“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,” she explained.
Though Hammer hasn’t spoken publicly since, he returned to social media in November 2023, wiping his account of his past posts and sharing a video of a laptop on his lap as he was in a moving train at an unclear location. Later that month, he posted a photo of himself back in L.A. and at a dinner with his cousins.
As for his love life, Hammer had been spotted kissing his ex-girlfriend Lisa Perejma in Italy in June 2023 and was briefly engaged to a woman named Marina Gris as of October 2023, though the two broke up in January 2024.
