Actor Armie Hammer accused of rape, attorney calls claim 'outrageous'
Actor Armie Hammer accused of rape, attorney calls claim 'outrageous'
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A young woman on Thursday accused U.S. actor Armie Hammer of raping her four years ago in Los Angeles and police said they were investigating the matter.
Hammer’s lawyer called the allegation “outrageous” and said that all the actor’s sexual relationships were “completely consensual.”
On Thursday, a woman who identified herself only as Effie, told a video news conference that she had been in a four-year romantic relationship with the actor, who was married to TV personality Elizabeth Chambers at the time.
“On April 24, 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, now 24, told reporters.
“He also committed other acts of violence against me, to which I did not consent,” she said.
Effie’s attorney, Gloria Allred, said the woman had given evidence to police.
A Los Angeles Police Department spokesman said that “Armie Hammer is the named suspect in an alleged sexual assault investigation” that was opened on Feb. 3, 2021.
Hammer’s lawyer, Andrew Brettler, said in a statement that the woman’s own correspondence with his client “undermines and refutes her outrageous allegations.”
Effie, who lives in Europe, said she met Hammer on Facebook in 2016 and fell in love with him. After the alleged rape, she said she had suffered traumatic flashbacks and had felt suicidal. She said she felt guilty about not speaking out sooner and hoped Hammer would “be held accountable.”
Hammer and Chambers split up in July 2020 after 10 years of marriage.
