Nearly four years after Armie Hammerwas swept up in what felt like a “tornado” as allegations about his personal life were publicly waged against him, the 37-year-old actor has emerged from the storm, addressing some of the “outlandish” claims about him. 

During a newly released interview on the Painful Lessons podcast, Hammer notably addressed the allegations he faced of cannibalism. 

“There were things that people were saying about me that just felt so outlandish… Yeah, that I was a cannibal,” he said after co-host Tyler Ramsey brought it up. “Now I’m able to sort of look at it with a sense of distance and perspective and be like, that’s hilarious, like people called me a cannibal and everyone believed them. They’re like, ‘Yup, that guy ate people.’ You’re just like, what? Like what are you talking about? Do you know what you have to do to be a cannibal? You have to eat people, like, how am I gonna be a cannibal? It was bizarre.” 

After private messages purported but not confirmed to be written by him — in which sexual graphic fantasies were described — went viral online in January 2021, Hammer called the claims “bulls**t” and stepped down from his role opposite Jennifer Lopez in Shotgun Wedding. Shortly after, he was dropped by his talent agency and publicist. The rest of his acting work dried up as he faced sexual assault allegations, which he denied and said were “completely consensual.” In May 2023, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced that, after an “extremely thorough review,” there was insufficient evidence to charge him with a crime. 

By that point, however, much damage had already taken place in Hammer’s life. During the interview, Hammer reflected on the multiple “deaths” that he experienced, including a “career death” and “ego death.” He was also candid about the fact that he was already in a bad place before the scandal erupted, telling Ramsey that he was in a “black hole” where he never felt satisfied or happy with himself, but found temporary adoration from his stardom. However, when that fandom turned to hate, he entered into an emotional and spiritual crisis. 

“I’m really lucky that my death wasn’t a physical death because the path that I was on before, you know, I was burning the candle pretty hard on both ends and, you know, there’s only a couple different ways that that story ends, and I’m really grateful that it’s almost like a neutron bomb went off in my life, right? It killed all the people. It killed me. It killed my ego. It killed all the people around me that I thought were my friends that weren’t.” 

“I’m still here,” Hammer said. “I still have my health and I’m really grateful for that.”

But, before he could feel gratitude for what has unfolded, Hammer said there were multiple times amid the social media hate when he said he could not take it anymore. Hammer recalled a “half-a**ed suicide attempt” in which he swam far out into the ocean, but thought of his two children with ex-wife Elizabeth Chambers and ultimately swam back. 

As for his life today, Hammer has not had an acting role in years, but has written a script and is working on that project. “In terms of my career as an actor, I’m nowhere… I’m not getting jobs. I’m not getting into rooms to meet with people. I am not a viable commodity for the entertainment industry in terms of the Hollywood system. I’m not welcome to play in that sandbox for right now,” he said. “I’m not allowed in that sandbox, but I’m an artist. This is what I love to do. I have done nothing in my adult life except for make films and do plays and it’s what makes my soul sing and it’s what makes me happy and it’s what I love. It’s my passion, it’s my art, it’s my form of expression, so even though I’m not welcome in their sandbox, I’ve just decided that I’m going to try to make my own sandbox, and if you won’t let me play in yours, I’ll go play in mine.”