Armie Hammer accused of raping woman and 'other acts of violence' in 2017

A woman accused the actor Armie Hammer of rape and "other acts of violence" during a virtual news conference with attorney Gloria Allred on Thursday.

The woman, identified only as Effie, said, "On April 24, 2017, Armie Hammer violently raped me for over four hours in Los Angeles, during which he repeatedly slapped my head against a wall, bruising my face. He also committed other acts of violence against me to which I did not consent."

Speaking through tears, Effie, 24, also alleged that Hammer abused her "mentally, emotionally, and sexually" during a four-year on-and-off relationship.

Hammer, 34, denied the accusations. His attorney Andrew Brettler said in a statement to EW that Effie's "own correspondence with Mr. Hammer undermines and refutes her outrageous allegations. As recently as July 18, 2020, [she] 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."

Brettler also provided a screenshot of an alleged text message exchange between Hammer and Effie in which Hammer wrote, "I am not going to be able to engage in you in that specific way right now. It never ends well. We can talk and be friends, but I can't do that."

A representative from the Los Angeles Police Department confirmed Thursday to EW that Hammer "is the main suspect in an alleged sexual assault investigation that was initiated on February 3."

Hammer became embroiled in controversy in January when allegations surfaced on social media that he had sent disturbing messages to various women on Instagram who said they had been in sexual relationships with him.

Hammer called the allegations "bulls---" at the time. Citing "vicious and spurious online attacks," he also dropped out of filming the movie Shotgun Wedding, an action-comedy with Jennifer Lopez.

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